Sleeping Disorder Linked to Risk of Stroke Death

July 27, 2004

Mon Jul 26, 8:18 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!

LONDON (Reuters) - A sleep-related disorder that causes repeated

interruptions in breathing is a new risk factor for death from

stroke, Spanish researchers said Tuesday.

Sleep apnea affects about 20 percent of people. Sufferers can stop

breathing for 10 seconds or more while asleep, sometimes more than

300 times a night.

Dr Olga Parra and researchers at Barcelona University Hospital in

Spain monitored 161 stroke patients and found that their risk of

dying from a stroke was linked to sleep apnea.

" It's the first time the link between apnea and stroke has been shown

to affect mortality, " Parra said.

The link was most clear in patients with obstructive sleep apnea,

when breathing may be interrupted because the upper airways collapse.

Parra and her colleagues began monitoring the breathing of stroke

patients shortly after they were admitted to hospital following

strokes and calculated an apnea index for each one.

During the 30-month study, 22 patients died. Half of them had

suffered a second stroke. The higher the patient scored on the apnea

scale, the greater the risk of dying from stroke, the researchers

said in the study reported in the European Respiratory Journal.

Stroke is a leading killer worldwide and occurs when a blood vessel

to the brain bursts or is blocked by a clot, cutting off vital

oxygen. In 2002, an estimated 5.5 million people worldwide died from

strokes, according to the World Health Organization (news - web

sites).

" This Spanish study represents a milestone in our understanding of

the potential role of sleep apnea in stroke patients, " Ludger Grote,

of the Sahlgrenska Hospital in Sweden, said in a commentary in the

journal.

" Its results could have considerable implications for the future

management of stroke, " he added.

Parra and her team did not explain why sleep apnea raises the risk of

stroke death but they said the disorder can be treated by using a

nasal mask that supplies a continuous flow of pressurized air to

reduce the breathing interruptions.

They have now launched a study in several centers in Spain to see if

treating sleep apnea could cut the death rate from stroke. The

results of that study are expected in about five years.

Recommended Posts