OSA increases risk of stroke: Study
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) more than doubles the risk of stroke in men, placing women at an increased risk of the condition, a new study finds.
Previous studies had linked untreated OSA to high blood pressure, heart attack, irregular heartbeat, heart failure, obesity, diabetes, unusual daytime sleepiness and an increased risk of injury and death due to drowsiness.
According to the study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, OSA, even in mild forms, is linked with an increased risk of stroke in men; the greater the severity, the higher the risk becomes.
Moderate to severe forms of OSA may triple the risk of experiencing cardiovascular events in men, the study found.
As for women, only severe forms of OSA are associated with an increased stroke risk.
“Although more women had strokes, relatively more men with sleep apnea than without sleep apnea had strokes, and less so in women,” lead researcher Susan Redline said.
The relatively greater impact of OSA on the risk of stroke in men can be contributed to the fact that men are affected with the condition at younger ages and therefore may go untreated for longer periods.
Sleep apnea, also called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is a common disorder that affects more than 18 million people in the United States. In many of these people, the condition is undiagnosed. OSA takes its name from the Greek word apnea, which means ‘without breath.’
People with sleep apnea literally stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, often for a minute or longer and as many as hundreds of times during a single night.
Source: presstv.ir
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