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Hypertension and sleep apnoea
Author(s) -
SKATRUD JAMES B.,
MORGAN BARBARA
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2869.1995.tb00183.x
Subject(s) - medicine , breathing , sleep (system call) , sympathetic nervous system , anesthesia , asphyxia , sleep and breathing , blood pressure , cardiology , computer science , operating system
SUMMARY Epidemiological data indicate a link between sleep‐disordered breathing and elevation of arterial pressure. Previous studies suggest increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system in patients with sleep apnoea. The response of muscle sympathetic nerve activity was further investigated in normal, awake subjects following exposure to 20 minutes of asphyxia. Sympathetic nerve traffic increased during exposure and remained elevated even after the return to room air breathing. These findings raise the possibility that this sustained elevation of sympathetic nerve traffic could play a role in the development of daytime hypertension in patients with sleep‐disordered breathing.