MONDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies give greater incentive for people with obstructive sleep apnea to seek treatment for this disorder.
In one study, Swedish researchers found that stroke victims with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) die sooner than stroke victims who don't have the sleep disorder or another less common type of it.
The other study, done by Spanish researchers, reports that people with obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension may be able to lower their blood pressure if the breathing condition is treated with continuous positive airway pressure.
The studies were to be presented Monday at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference, in Toronto.
In obstructive sleep apnea, the brain signals throat muscles to relax to the point the airway becomes blocked. A less common form of the disorder is central sleep apnea, in which the brain fails to properly regulate the signals to the muscles that control breathing. In both cases, the person wakes in his or her effort to take in oxygen.
The Swedish study, following 132 stroke patients for a decade, found that those with an obstructive apnea-hypopnea index of 15 or greater were 76 percent more likely to die earlier than those with a less severe condition or none at all. Those with a lower apnea-hypopnea index of 10 were also at greater risk of early death.
"The findings are particularly interesting, because obstructive sleep apnea is a treatable condition," lead researcher Dr. Karl Franklin, of the University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, said in a prepared statement.
He added that those with central sleep apnea also had an increased risk of earlier death, but unlike their counterparts with obstructive sleep apnea, that risk was not independent of variables such as age, gender, smoking, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, cognitive ability and how dependent patients were on help in their daily lives.
Based on these findings, Franklin said a clinical trial is needed to determine whether treating obstructive sleep apnea in stroke patients helps extend their lives.
