Sleep Apnea and Stroke
Obstructive sleep apnea, a form of sleep-disordered breathing, is associated with multiple major stroke risk factors but is also an independent risk factor for stroke.
- Cardioembolic stroke is far more common in patients with OSA than in patients without OSA.
- Obstructive sleep apnea doubles the risk of stroke in men.
- Men with moderate to severe sleep apnea were about three times more likely to have a stroke than men with mild or no sleep apnea.
- Sleep apnea is common in people with silent strokes and small lesions in the brain.
- An estimated 70% of acute ischemic stroke patients may have sleep apnea.
- Sleep apnea may negatively affect the short and long-term outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients.
- Early treatment of sleep apnea may help reduce risk of silent strokes in these patients.
