The study included 741 men and 1,000 women, and subjects were selected based upon the presence of risk factors for SDB, such as snoring, daytime sleepiness and obesity. Subjects were evaluated during one night in the sleep laboratory at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Results showed that people who snore and have mild sleep apnea were two and a half times as likely to be affected by hypertension as those with no SDB problems. Those who simply snore were one and a half times more likely to have hypertension. Furthermore, the researchers report that the strength of the association between SDB and hypertension appears strongest in the young, especially those of normal weight.
Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. About 12 million Americans have sleep apnea, a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. These breathing pauses are almost always accompanied by snoring. Bixler adds that the findings in this study suggest that physicians should consider the possibility of hypertension whenever SDB is present. This study was funded by grants from The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of The National Institutes of Health.