[Obstructive sleep apnea and a cardiovascular risk in patients with arterial hypertension].

Objective: To study an independent role of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) according to the data of a retrospective observation.

Subjects And Methods: all patients underwent polysomnographic test (EMBLA Flaga, Iceland) and the frequency of unfavorable events (stroke, myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, atrial fibrillation, intermittent claudication, or death) was determined during the case-control observational longitudinal retrospective study. The diagnosis of OSAS was made when the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of more than 15 events per hour of sleep; the patients with an AHI of less than 15 formed a control group.

Results: Among 120 enrolled patients, 64 (53%) had OSAS. In the patients with OSAS, the baseline AHI was 50.9 +/- 23 events per hour whereas in the control group it was 8.9 +/- 5.2 per hours. Both groups were comparable in age, height, weight, body mass index, snore duration, drowsiness, and respiratory standstill during sleep, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and creatine. While analyzing OSAS, there was no change in the risk for a combined end point (all-cause death, stroke, myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, atrial fibrillation, or intermittent claudication). Our study was retrospective, the patients were few and AH is itself an important cardiovascular risk factor which should be borne in interpreting the results of our study. We consider that the study of the independent role of OSAS should be continued within a well-designed prospective observation.