People with obstructive sleep apnea have a higher risk of which condition?

People with obstructive sleep apnea have a higher risk of which condition?

• A. Depression
• B. Stroke
• C. Hypotension
• D. COPD

Answer: (B)

Obstructive sleep apnea causes repeated airway collapse during sleep, leading to intermittent hypoxia and frequent arousals. This pattern drives sympathetic nervous system activation, oxidative stress, and inflammatory changes that harm blood vessels and raise blood pressure over time. Those vascular effects increase the risk of cerebrovascular events, such as stroke. While depression can occur with sleep apnea, and there can be overlap with lung conditions like COPD, the strongest and most established enhanced risk among the options is stroke. Hypotension is not typically a feature of untreated sleep apnea; in fact, hypertension is more commonly seen, and CPAP treatment can help reduce both nocturnal hypoxia and blood pressure, potentially lowering stroke risk.

Obstructive sleep apnea causes repeated airway collapse during sleep, leading to intermittent hypoxia and frequent arousals. This pattern drives sympathetic nervous system activation, oxidative stress, and inflammatory changes that harm blood vessels and raise blood pressure over time. Those vascular effects increase the risk of cerebrovascular events, such as stroke. While depression can occur with sleep apnea, and there can be overlap with lung conditions like COPD, the strongest and most established enhanced risk among the options is stroke. Hypotension is not typically a feature of untreated sleep apnea; in fact, hypertension is more commonly seen, and CPAP treatment can help reduce both nocturnal hypoxia and blood pressure, potentially lowering stroke risk.