Blood Pressure and Sleep Apnea

Is your high blood pressure poorly controlled with medication and the values just won't go down even with medication? Do you also sleep poorly and often feel tired and exhausted during the day?

It is possible that a condition known as sleep apnea is causing the problems. This involves (often unnoticed by the affected person) breathing pauses during the night. In most cases, spouses or partners who share the bed can provide more information about this than the affected person themselves. They often know better whether their partner snores or if breathing pauses occur - especially after individual snores. If this applies to you, please talk to your treating physician about it.

Sleep apnea can trigger or worsen a high blood pressure condition, as the breathing pauses lead to a drop in oxygen concentration in the blood. The body responds to this condition, perceived as life-threatening, with a life-saving awakening reaction: the so-called arousal. During this, pulse and blood pressure values rise, and the muscles tense up. The breathing pause is usually ended by a few deep or long breaths. The affected person does not wake up or remember this, but they enter a lighter sleep phase, which is less restorative. Thus, they are unaware of the nighttime breathing pauses but feel their effects during the day in the form of daytime fatigue, morning headaches, forgetfulness, and mood problems.

The reduced oxygen concentration affects blood pressure, resulting in an increase of 8 to 15 mmHg systolic and 5 to 10 mmHg diastolic (on average), as this leads to an increase in stress hormones and an increase in the blood vessel-constricting endothelin. The lack of nighttime recovery further drives blood pressure values up.

If sleep apnea syndrome is present, the nighttime drop in blood pressure is often absent due to the aforementioned factors. Depending on the severity of the condition, blood pressure values may even rise at night.

Treating sleep apnea usually also helps to lower blood pressure values or these respond significantly better to medication therapy.

Sleep apnea does not only affect adults. Due to obesity and lack of exercise, the condition is increasingly seen in children and adolescents, also increasing their risk for high blood pressure. Affected children often stand out due to their behavior or declining academic performance. If a child is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, blood pressure should also be monitored.

Sources

By Sabine Croci. This article is medically reviewed. Last updated (04/2024).
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Blood Pressure and Sleep Apnea

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