Sleep apnea linked to higher cardiovascular odds in people with stroke
An observational review linked obstructive sleep apnea with several cardiovascular conditions among stroke patients. It cannot show whether apnea caused these differences or treatment would prevent them.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Among people with stroke, obstructive sleep apnea was associated with higher odds of high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, coronary artery disease, heart failure and vascular lesions. Other cardiovascular conditions showed no statistically significant increase. These findings describe associations; they do not establish that treating sleep apnea would prevent cardiovascular disease.
This abstract-based explanation cannot assess details absent from the abstract, including follow-up periods, absolute event rates and how analyses accounted for other differences between patients.
What researchers found
High blood pressure odds ratio
Sleep apnea versus no sleep apnea in stroke patients; 95% confidence interval 1.71–2.97. Follow-up timeframe was not reported.
Understanding the odds
The reported odds ratio compares high blood pressure between the groups. It does not give an individual's absolute probability or a treatment benefit. Its confidence interval expresses uncertainty around the pooled statistical comparison.
Treatment remains untested
The included studies observed cardiovascular events rather than testing an apnea treatment. The authors suggest possible benefits from identifying and treating apnea, but the observational comparisons do not establish those benefits.
The original publication
Stroke patients with obstructive sleep Apnea: Risk of cardiovascular diseases - A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Yang Y, Pan Y, Cao F et al.
Sleep Med · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40633329
- Record checked
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