Persons With Sleep Apnea Have Twice the Risk of Suffering a Stroke

ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2011) — According to research presented at the School of Medicine and the University of Navarra Hospital by Dr. Roberto Muñoz, a physician of the Neurology Service of the Hospital Complex of Navarra, those persons with serious cases of sleep apnea have 2.5 times more the possibility of suffering an ischemic stroke.

This was confirmed in an study undertaken for his doctoral dissertation among 394 subjects aged 70 or more. "After studying the quality of their sleep, we tracked the volunteers over the course of six years. After which, 20 of the study subjects had suffered a stroke," explained this native Pamplonan. Furthermore, he confirmed that in addition to the fact that sleep apnea affects above all persons of middle and advanced age -- it is estimated that 5% of all adults suffer from it -- this prevalence may significantly increase with age. In addition, the new Ph.D. in Medicine noted that apnea "can appear in childhood, although with different causes and characteristics."

Among the predisposing factors for suffering this disorder, the expert emphasized obesity: "Therefore, one of the measures for avoiding the problem is losing weight. In fact, there are patients who have been able to make their sleep apnea disappear simply by reducing their weight."

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