title: [Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, endothelial dysfunction and coronary atherosclerosis].
abstract: In obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), repetitive episodes of apnea cause increased sympathetic nerve activity, increased surges in arterial blood pressure, swings in intrathoracic pressure, oxidative stres, hypoxia and hypercapnia. The association of OSAS with some diseases, having endothelial dysfunction in their physiopathology, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, coronary artery diseases, stroke and heart failure is common. Increased sympathetic nerve activity and also endothelial dysfunction which are the results of hypoxia, have important roles in vascular complications of OSAS. When compared with healthy population, an important endothelial dysfunction in OSAS patients and relationship between OSAS severity and endothelial dysfunction have been shown. In this review, the relationship between OSAS and endothelial dysfunction was overviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. naydemir@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Neşe
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dursunoğlu
authors.forename: Dursun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dursunoğlu
mesh_terms: D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000503:physiopathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*