Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Incidence and Impact on Hypertension?

There are a number of recent studies evaluating sleep disordered breathing and its treatment in the context of blood pressure control. In addition, total sleep time and subjective sleep complaints may also be related to hypertension; these will be reviewed. Recent findings in original articles document that sleep disordered breathing and decreased total sleep time, if chronic, may contribute to an increased risk for development of hypertension. Treatment of sleep apnea with either continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or oral devices are reasonable treatment approaches for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but the data on the effect on blood pressure remain unclear. In summary, treatment of sleep disordered breathing may help reduce blood pressure or decrease development of incident hypertension.