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Sleep Apnea and Hypertension
Research conducted by Dr. Mark Dyken and others at the University of Iowa Sleep Disorders Center revealed that 77 percent of male stroke patients and 64 percent of female stroke patients suffered from apneas. Of the group control group (who did not have strokes), only 23 percent of males and 14 percent of females suffered from sleep apnea.
As these researchers probed deeper into why such incidents occur, they found that approximately 50 percent of patients with high blood pressure also have obstructive sleep apnea.
According to a Chest journal article* by Dr. Harald Schafer and others, "it's overwhelmingly likely that apneas cause high blood pressure." Dr. Scharf found that in a population of hypertensive patients who were not seeking treatment for sleep complaints, 20 to 50 percent had sleep apnea.
Sleep-related myocardial ischemia and sleep structure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and coronary heart disease"
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