Sleep Apnea Affects Blood Flow in the Brain

The team that discovered sleep apnea sufferers were three times more likely to have a stroke or die than non-sufferers has been attempting to determine the mechanism responsible for increased stroke likelihood and they have located a good candidate. According to their recent study published in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, the ability of the brain to regulate its blood flow, what might be called cerebrovascular autoregulation (although the study architects use the slightly less precise cerebral autoregulation), seems to be decreased.

Specifically, the researchers used Doppler ultrasound to measure blood flow velocity in the brain and compared it with blood pressure and CO₂ saturation. The study shows that patients with obstructive sleep apnea had a lower velocity of blood flow in their brains at all times. In addition, the brains of sleep apnea sufferers seem slower to recover following changes in blood pressure. However, the brains of sleep apnea sufferers did seem to respond adequately to increases in CO₂ saturation.

Researchers speculate that lower blood velocity and compensatory mechanisms in sleep apnea sufferers may make them more susceptible to ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke is caused by blood clots that become lodged in the brain, depriving part of the brain of oxygen.

Stroke is just one of the most severe of the risks faced by sleep apnea sufferers. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, oral appliance therapy can reduce the number of apneic events you suffer and dramatically reduce the level of your risk. To learn more, schedule a sleep apnea consultation at the Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment Center in Gurnee, Illinois today.