Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is defined as stoppage of breathing during sleep. Symptoms of OSA include snoring, daytime sleepiness, morning headache, sexual dysfunction, and mood and behavioral disorders.
Cardiovascular diseases associated with OSA include hypertension, heart failure, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia and infarction, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. In addition, OSA is associated with metabolic deregulation (insulin resistance and lipid disorders), which in turn is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
Cerebrovascular disease like stroke or transient ischemic attack and is associated with recurrent stroke and death in patients with snoring and sleep apnea.
There is an association between OSA and dementia in the elderly, with the severity of the dementia being related to the severity of the sleep-disordered breathing.
