title: Obstructive sleep apnea and heart disease: the biomarkers point of view.
abstract: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a highly prevalent disorder. Important risk factors for this disease are represented by obesity, male gender, smoking, some endocrinological disturbances, alcohol intake, use of benzodiazepines, and craniofacial alterations. It is well known that OSAS is a frequent comorbidity as well as a relevant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), especially in patients with hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), arrhythmias, and heart failure. Furthermore, therapy with continuous positive airway pressure devices (CPAP) has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of serious cardiovascular consequences. Interactions between OSAS and the cardiovascular system (CVS) can eventually result mainly in coronary atherosclerosis. These two conditions are connected by a complex biomarkers network. An extensive overview of these pathways could be helpful to better understand the causes of cardiovascular impairment in patients with OSAS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy. nicola.vitulano@gmail.com
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vitulano
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Marco Berardino
authors.forename: Antonina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Re
authors.forename: Graziano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riccioni
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perna
authors.forename: Flaminio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mormile
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: Fulvio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bellocci
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers