Vol. 1, Issue 2 (2012)

Materials and Methods: One nurse completed the study questionnaire, When each patient was recruited in our sleep center, the nurse gathered his or her demographic information, which included name, gender, age, job, height, weight, family history, smoking and drinking history, snoring history, sleepiness tendency in different conditions, hypertension history, and antihypertensive drug application. Next, the body mass index (BMI = weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and Epworth sleepiness score of each participant were calculated. BP were taken and charted of morning evening and night. The subjects were divided into four groups based on the PSG results: the con-trol group (control, n = 275) mild OSAHS (mild, n = 430) moderate OSAHS (mod- erate, n = 650) and severe OSAHS (severe, n = 870).

Result: Increased AHI values and decreased LSaO2 values were associated with increased daytime, evening, nighttime, and morning MBPs in all groups, after controlling for related confounding variables. Patients with OSAHS have high levels of sympathetic nerve activity.

Conclusion: OSAS is associated with hyper-tension and hypertension associated end-stage organ diseases such as stroke, coronary heart disease, and arrhythmia, the employment of CPAP is highly encouraged as CPAP therapy seems to assist blood pressure control at least in those with severe apnea, resistant hypertension, and daytime sleepiness.