Connection between sleep apnea & high blood pressure

High-fat diet in patients with obstructive sleep apnea changes gut microbes which triggers high blood pressure – according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome improves the risk of hypertension, however the interaction between the 2 conditions was not clear.
Researchers from Baylor College from Medicine showed that imbalanced microbiome caused hypertension in rats suffering from sleep apnea. The effects of both apnea and high-fat diet added up to result in hypertension. Findings suggest new treatment for obstructive sleep-apnea induces hypertension: changes in diet or adding probiotics which help in maintaining the integrity of gut conditions should be considered.

Link between obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension

- Up to 80 percent of patients with obstructive sleep apnea are hypertensive
- Nearly 40 percent of hypertensive patients have obstructive sleep apnea
- Obstructive sleep apnea is present in nearly 60 percent of resistant hypertension cases

Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that involves breaks or significant decrease in airflow during sleep. Apnea is defined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as the cessation of airflow for at least 10 seconds. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by soft tissue collapse in the pharynx.

stop sleep apnea

Risks of untreated obstructive sleep apnea

- cardiovascular mortality
- sleep-related traffic accidents
- cerebrovascular mortality

Risk factors

- obesity
- central fat distribution
- male sex (male/female 2:1)
- age
- postmenopausal state
- alcohol use
- sedative use
- smoking
- habitual snoring with daytime somnolence
- rapid exe movement sleep

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