U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/index.htm EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, November 9, 2005; 5:00 p.m. ET CONTACT: NHLBI Communications Office, 301-496-4236, nhlbi_news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx NHLBI MEDIA AVAILABILITY: SLEEP APNEA AND RISK FOR STROKE AND DEATH WHAT: An observational study of more than 1,000 patients at the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine found that obstructive sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of stroke or death from any cause, and that the risk is linked to sleep apnea severity. The researchers found the increased risk to be independent of other factors, including hypertension. Participants were over age 50 without a history of heart attack or stroke at the start of the study. They were followed for an average of just under 3.5 years. The report cites support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine, and the Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service. "Obstructive Sleep Apnea as a Risk Factor for Stroke and Death," and an accompanying editorial, "Sleep -- A New Cardiovascular Frontier," by NHLBI grantee Virend K. Somers, M.D., Ph.D., will be published in the November 10 issue of the "New England Journal of Medicine". WHO: Carl E. Hunt, M.D., director of the NHLBI's National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, is available to comment on the study's findings and to discuss the signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, and the importance of diagnosing and treating the sleep-related breathing disorder. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea has been shown to increase the chance of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors -- including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes -- as well as injuries or deaths from work-related accidents and vehicular crashes. NHLBI is currently supporting several large studies which follow participants over longer periods of time to confirm the longitudinal relationship between sleep apnea and stroke and associated risk factors. CONTACT: To schedule interviews, contact the NHLBI Communications Office at 301-496-4236. NCSDR is administered by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the Federal Government's primary agency for biomedical and behavioral research. NHLBI press releases and fact sheets, including information on sleep apnea, can be found online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research Agency" -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. ## This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2005/nhlbi-09.htm. To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress&A=1.
