Sleep apnea: is your patient at risk? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on Sleep Apnea

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by repeated collapse of the upper airway during sleep, with cessation of breathing. Four percent of middle-aged men and 2 percent of middle-aged women meet minimal criteria for the sleep apnea syndrome. Risk factors include loud, chronic snoring, obesity (especially nuchal), hypertension, excessive daytime sleepiness, and an increased tendency for automobile and work-related accidents. Cardiovascular comorbidity and complications include systemic hypertension, arrhythmias and possibly myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction in patients with coronary artery disease. Diagnosis is confirmed by a sleep study; currently, polysomnography is the optimum test. Treatment options range from behavioral therapy alone for mild cases to a combination of behavioral approaches and continuous positive airway pressure and/or surgery for moderate and severe cases. Continuous positive airway pressure is the most effective noninvasive treatment. Primary care physicians play a key role in the identification, management and follow-up of patients with sleep apnea.