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Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Morbidity—a Perspective

  • Sleep and 3D (Cancer, Cardiovascular, Metabolic Diseases) (D Gozal, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Sleep Medicine Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

In this paper, we analyzed the principal mechanisms linking OSA and cardiovascular diseases, the magnitude of this association, and the effect of treatment on cardiovascular risk reduction. Furthermore, we focused on big data and genomic approaches that may expand the innovative horizon aimed at personalized treatment of OSA.

Recent Findings

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more prone to suffer from cardiovascular diseases and their complications. Arousal from sleep, changes in intrathoracic pressures, and intermittent episodes of hypoxemia and re-oxygenation trigger intermediate mechanisms that are responsible for the cardiovascular consequences of OSA.

Summary

The impact of OSA on cardiovascular health, such as the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on cardiovascular risk, may vary among different patient profiles. In spite of increasing interest towards personalized therapy for OSA, observational studies and randomized clinical trials have failed to conclusively determine which OSA phenotypes may benefit most from treatment, particularly in terms of reducing cardiovascular risk.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (PI14/01266; PI16/00489; DTS15/00145), the Spanish Respiratory Society (SEPAR), Young Researchers Award from the AstraZeneca Foundation, and ALLER.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova-Santa Maria, Respiratory Department, Institut de Recerca Biomédica de Lleida, Avda. Rovira Roure 80, 25198, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain

    Gerard Torres, Cecilia Turino, Esther Sapiña, Manuel Sánchez-de-la-Torre & Ferran Barbé

  2. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain

    Gerard Torres, Manuel Sánchez-de-la-Torre & Ferran Barbé

Authors
  1. Gerard Torres
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  2. Cecilia Turino
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  3. Esther Sapiña
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  4. Manuel Sánchez-de-la-Torre
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  5. Ferran Barbé
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Correspondence to Ferran Barbé.

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Gerard Torres, Cecilia Turino, Esther Sapiña, Manuel Sánchez-de-la-Torre, and Ferran Barbé declare no conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Sleep and 3D (Cancer, Cardiovascular, Metabolic Diseases)

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Torres, G., Turino, C., Sapiña, E. et al. Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Morbidity—a Perspective. Curr Sleep Medicine Rep 4, 79–87 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40675-018-0108-5

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