L'ipertensione arteriosa sistemica nella sindrome dell'apnea ostruttiva nel sonno.

Systemic arterial hypertension is frequent in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), and may be involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular events which characterize the natural history of severe untreated OSAS. Although a large amount of epidemiologic and clinical research has been carried out on this topic, the independent role of OSAS in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension and the effects of nasal continuous airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on blood pressure continue to be controversial, in part because of the complex pathophysiology of OSAS and the common occurrence of other major risk factors for hypertension in OSAS patients. This article summarizes clinical and epidemiological data on arterial hypertension in snorers and patients with OSAS, and reviews available data on the effects of short, medium and long-term CPAP treatment on blood pressure. The results suggest that, although OSAS can increase blood pressure, CPAP treatment likely improves blood pressure control especially in hypertensive patients with severe OSAS and good compliance to CPAP treatment.