by btrupp
14. August 2011 06:37
Recent medical research has shown for the first time that sleep apnea is characterized by the breakdown of the inner walls of blood vessels (known as endothelial dysfunction) resulting in altered blood flow to the heart.
This study compared groups of healthy people, otherwise healthy people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and people with hypertension (or high blood pressure). Results showed that both the healthy people with OSA and those with hypertension had similar blood flow issues to their hearts, and all experienced significant improvement in endothelial dysfunction after 26 weeks of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
“While this study shows what happens to the blood vessels with sleep apnea,” says Robin Trupp, RN, PhD, “the good news is that wearing CPAP directly treats the cause, allowing people with sleep apnea to get better sleep AND to improve their blood flow and blood pressure.”