Women with untreated severe sleep apnea have 3.5 times higher risk of cardiovascular death.

-la Apnea affects to a 2-3% of the female population of middle-aged

-the study demonstrates that, as it had already been demonstrated in men, Sleep Apnea can be a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality in women

– treatment of Apnea with CPAP is associated with a significant reduction in the level of risk

Spain, February 2012.- the Sleep Apnea is a disease of high prevalence in men and women. Various studies have found a relationship between suffer from severe Sleep Apnea and risk of death from cardiovascular disease in men. However, until now there was no studies that have analyzed this partnership in women. The research carried out by the Spanish group of dream whose results publishes the prestigious scientific journal Annals of Internal Medicine ” is the first study that analyzes and exposes this relationship.

Dr. Francisco Campos Rodriguez, Member of the Spanish society of Pneumology and thoracic surgery and first signer of the article explains that the importance of this work is that you it’s the first study conducted in a very broad range of women and a prolonged monitoring. “Put the results of this study showed that there is an association between suffer from severe Sleep Apnea and death from cardiovascular diseases in women, as well as the protective role that can play treatment with CPAP.”

The sleep apnea consists of repeated episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep. It is a disease of high prevalence that affects 4-5% of males and 2-3% of women in the middle of life ages and its frequency increases with age. Despite having very effective treatments to reverse the consequences of sleep apnea, as pressure therapy continuous positive towards air superiror (CPAP), consistent is a device that releases air pressurized the air to avoid its collapse, only are diagnosed and treated with 5-9% of 1,200,000 to 2.150.000 subjects affected by this disease that is It estimated that there are in Spain. The typical symptoms of the men sleep apnea is snoring, respiratory pauses observed and excessive daytime sleepiness. However, women may have other less typical symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc that make difficult the clinical suspicion of this disease.

The published study has made a follow-up for 72 months to more than 1000 women of Hospital Universitario de Valme in Seville and the General Hospital of Requena in Valencia. Depending on the results of the test of the dream, and the treatment received, women were classified into different groups.

The obtained results allow to conclude, firstly, that the suffering from severe sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, which was 3.5 times higher compared to the control group of women without sleep Apneas. Secondly, the Group of women with sleep apnea serious receiving treatment with CPAP presented a risk of cardiovascular mortality similar to the group without sleep apneas, which suggests that this treatment may reduce this excess mortality to levels similar to which women without sleep apnea. The leve-moderada sleep apnea is not associated to an increase in the risk of mortality, when other risk factors were considered. “Another of the outstanding aspects of the study, is that the degree of compliance with CPAP treatment was associated significantly the risk of cardiovascular death, so that those women who used CPAP for more hours were more protected from this complication.

“”Our study is the first that has found an association between endure severe sleep apnea and an increase in the risk of cardiovascular death in female population, as well as the correct treatment with CPAP is associated with a reduction in this risk,” concludes Dr. Francisco Campos Rodriguez.