Cardiovascular effects of sleep-related breathing disorder

R Leung, JKW Chan, CKW Lai
Department of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong

Sleep-related breathing disorder is a prevalent medical condition that remains underdiagnosed in the community. This disorder has social, behavioural and neuropsychological impact, deleterious haemodynamic effects during sleep, and is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. This review aims to describe the current evidence for the association of sleep-related breathing disorder with hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, based on the knowledge of its haemodynamic effects during sleep.

Hong Kong Med J 1997;3:409-18

Key words: Cerebrovascular disorders; Heart failure, congestive; Hypertension; Mortality; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial ischemia; Positive-pressure respiration; Sleep apnea syndromes