UCLA sleep apnea study uncovers more hidden dangers for women

There's more bad news for women with sleep apnea. A new study from the UCLA School of Nursing shows that the body's autonomic responses — the controls that impact such functions as blood pressure, heart rate and sweating — are weaker in people with obstructive sleep apnea but are even more diminished in women.   Women with obstructive sleep apnea may appear to be healthy — having, for instance, normal resting blood pressure — and their symptoms also tend to be subtler, which often means their sleep problem is missed and they get diagnosed with other conditions.   "We now know that sleep apnea is a precursor to bigger health issues," said Paul Macey, lead researcher on the study, which appears Oct. 23 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE. "And for women in particular, the results could be deadly."   Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times. Each time, the oxygen level in the blood drops, eventually resulting in damage to many cells in the body. The condition affects more that 20 million adults in the U.S. and is associated with a number of serious health consequences and early death. Women are much less likely to be diagnosed than men.   For the study, men and women — both with and without obstructive sleep apnea — had their heart-rate responses measured during three physical tasks:  The Valsalva ma...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news