title: Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Vascular Diseases.
abstract: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects a large proportion of adults, and is as an independent risk factor for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease. The repetitive airway obstruction that characterizes OSA results in intermittent hypoxia, intrathoracic pressure swings, and sleep fragmentation, which in turn lead to sympathetic activation, oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction. This review outlines the associations between OSA and vascular diseases and describes basic mechanisms that may be responsible for this association, in both the micro- and macrocirculation. It also reports on interventional studies that aim to ameliorate OSA and thereby reduce vascular disease burden. © 2016 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 6:1519-1528, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Microcirculation Lab and Joslin-Beth Israel Deaconess Foot Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baltzis
authors.affiliation: Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Jessie P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.affiliation: Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Sanjay R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Microcirculation Lab and Joslin-Beth Israel Deaconess Foot Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Aristidis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Veves
mesh_terms: D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control