Sleep apnea and Transplantation

Health day has reported that patients with sleep apnoea are at increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Excerpt below

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"Kidney transplant patients with sleep apnea are at increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, Hungarian researchers say.



The study of 100 kidney transplant recipients found that 25 percent had moderate to severe sleep apnea, a rate similar to that seen in kidney disease patients on dialysis awaiting a transplant. This means that both types of patients who have the breathing-related sleep disorder should be considered at high risk for serious heart-related complications, the study authors noted.

Transplant recipients with sleep apnea were more than twice as likely as those without the syndrome to be taking three or more anti-hypertensive drugs, but still had higher blood pressure than those without the sleep disorder. Obesity increased a transplant patient's risk of developing sleep apnea.

When the researchers calculated risk scores, they found that kidney disease patients with sleep apnea were twice as likely to suffer heart disease or stroke than those without sleep apnea."

Sleep apnea is a common disease which occurs particularly in obese patients where the windpipe closes during sleep producing periods of no respiration or apnea and subsequent hypoxia ( low blood oxygen levels) this occurs numerous times during the night, the patient usually snores as well. Patients have periodic movements of the feet as if they are trying to move during episodes. Numerous episodes disturb the normal sleep pattern and leads to day time somnolence. This has also been associated with changes in mood and hypertension. The present study has shown an association between sleep apnea and hypertension that is already known. It is however interesting that it occurs in both transplant patients and patients awaiting kidney transplantation in the numbers quoted. That indicates a prevalence that I have never suspected. There may be significant gains to be had by screening these populations for sleep apnea. The treatment of sleep apnea may result in much easier to control blood pressure and improvement in outcome of chronic kidney disease and heart failure.