title: [Effects of blood pressure day-nocturnal rhythm and endothelin in patients of sleep apnea syndrome].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the change of blood pressure and endothelin in sleep apnea syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ambulatory blood pressure, echocardiogram and plasma endothelin in 164 cases of hypertension and normal controls with or without sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) were examined. The patients were divided into four groups and 41 cases were in each group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that in a number of the patients of sleep apnea with or without hypertension blood pressure day nocturnal rhythm disappeared and endothelin increased (18.2 +/- 5.7 ng/L and 13.2 +/- 4.4 ng/L) The difference of nocturnal blood pressure and endothelin between SAS groups and non-SAS groups (11.7 +/- 3.9 ng/L and 4.3 +/- 2.1 ng/L) were statistically significant (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was suggested that the SAS patients might be due to cyclical hypoxemia and nerve-endocrine abnormality activating endothelin, and other vasoactive peptides with increased blood pressure during sleep and enhance the damage to target organs.
authors.affiliation: 359th Hospital of PLA, Zhenjiang.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ci
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D016232:Endothelins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D016232:Endothelins