Sleep apnea and high blood pressure
In Switzerland, an estimated 1.5 million adults suffer from high blood pressure, and almost as many from sleep apnea (if you factor in the number of undiagnosed cases). A coincidence? Hardly.
High blood pressure often results from excess weight, lack of exercise, stress, or an unbalanced diet, but obstructive sleep apnea can also play a role. Nighttime breathing pauses prevent the natural drop in blood pressure during sleep, trigger stress responses, and promote narrowing of the blood vessels.
Consistent treatment of sleep apnea can improve blood pressure and significantly reduce the risk of serious secondary diseases. You can learn more on this page.
High blood pressure as a consequence of sleep apnea
“High blood pressure is often not the primary disease, but the consequence of untreated sleep apnea. Nighttime breathing pauses prevent the normal drop in blood pressure during sleep and place the heart and blood vessels under constant stress. When sleep apnea is treated in a targeted way, blood pressure values can be significantly improved in many cases.”
Prof. H. Sailer
What you should know about high blood pressure and sleep apnea
Do high blood pressure and sleep apnea often occur together?
The combination of high blood pressure and sleep apnea is extremely common. Because: high blood pressure is often the consequence of untreated sleep apnea. But to be truly sure whether this applies in your case, you should have your high blood pressure medically assessed. If you suspect that sleep apnea is causing your high blood pressure, you can come to us directly.
What causes high blood pressure?
High blood pressure can be traced back to various causes. Alongside genetic factors, personal lifestyle plays a key role in the development of hypertension. Excess weight, lack of exercise, a high-salt diet, and regular alcohol consumption increase pressure in the vessels and place a long-term strain on the heart. Chronic stress also has negative effects: constant activation of the nervous system releases stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and raise blood pressure.
Can high blood pressure be caused by sleep apnea?
Untreated sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure. Nighttime breathing pauses cause oxygen deficiency and stress reactions, creating blood pressure spikes and potentially developing into chronic hypertension over time. For this reason, sleep apnea should always be medically evaluated when high blood pressure is present.
Do snorers often suffer from high blood pressure?
Yes, snorers very often suffer from high blood pressure. People with untreated sleep apnea experience repeated breathing pauses at night, leading to oxygen deficiency and stress reactions in the body. This stress can constrict blood vessels and raise blood pressure permanently.
What should be done if sleep apnea is found in connection with high blood pressure?
If a patient has high blood pressure caused by obstructive sleep apnea, action should be taken immediately. Sleep apnea must then be treated consistently to prevent life-threatening cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack or stroke.
Depending on the severity of the condition, different therapies may be considered, from breathing therapy and dental splints to surgical procedures.
Can high blood pressure improve through sleep apnea therapy?
In many cases, high blood pressure can improve with treatment of sleep apnea. When sleep apnea is effectively treated, nighttime stress reactions decrease, which has a positive impact on blood pressure values. This can reduce symptoms such as morning headaches or daytime sleepiness, as well as the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Especially with early diagnosis, regardless of age, there are good chances that values stabilize and medication for high blood pressure can be reduced.
What is meant by secondary hypertension?
Secondary hypertension refers to high blood pressure that does not arise on its own, but is the result of a clearly identifiable cause. This includes hormonal disorders, kidney disease, certain medications, and obstructive sleep apnea. In these cases, high blood pressure is a symptom of an underlying condition.
High blood pressure in the morning as a consequence of sleep apnea
Have you ever measured your blood pressure in the morning? In fact, values are usually highest then, right after getting up. That’s no coincidence: during the night, blood pressure should actually drop. This is known as the so-called nighttime dipping, which is standard in healthy people. Blood pressure normally falls by about 10 to 20 percent during sleep. This nighttime dipping relieves the heart and blood vessels and is considered an important protective mechanism for the cardiovascular system.
In people with sleep apnea, however, this natural recovery often fails to occur. Repeated breathing pauses lead to oxygen deficiency and activate stress reactions in the body. Pulse and blood pressure rise again and again, sometimes dozens of times per hour. Over time, this constant nighttime strain can cause chronically elevated blood pressure to develop, or make existing hypertension harder to control.
The nighttime breathing stoppages caused by sleep apnea also result in a lower oxygen concentration in the blood. This increases the concentration of so-called endothelin, a hormone that regulates the narrowing of blood vessels. Activation of endothelin also raises blood pressure, and the heart and circulatory system are put under even greater strain by the constricted vessels.
So if you regularly notice high morning readings and also snore, suffer from daytime sleepiness, or frequently wake with headaches, you should definitely consider a sleep assessment.
The danger of undetected sleep apnea in high blood pressure
Around 30 to 40% of people with high blood pressure have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), while in treatment-resistant hypertension as many as 70 to 85% are affected. This is not a random overlap, OSA is often the cause of high blood pressure. If it goes unrecognized, there is a risk that a completely wrong therapy will be prescribed. For example, blood-pressure-lowering medications may be given that can negatively affect sleep apnea, while also impairing the body’s natural waking function. Such treatment would do more harm than good. For this reason, it is important to us to provide a reliable diagnosis for you.
We rely on a comprehensive sleep and airway analysis. If suspicion of apnea is confirmed, we recommend further testing in a sleep laboratory. There, among other things, sleep stages, breathing, oxygen saturation, and pulse are measured. Based on the collected data, the experts can then make an accurate diagnosis.