Related Experiment Videos
Pulmonary haemodynamics in obstructive sleep apnoea.
Oreste Marrone1, Maria Rosaria Bonsignore
1Istituto di Fisiopatologia Respiratoria del CNR, Palermo, Italy. marrone@ifr.pa.cnr.it
Sleep Medicine Reviews
|January 18, 2003
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) causes transient and permanent changes in pulmonary haemodynamics. Sleep-disordered breathing can lead to pulmonary hypertension and right ventricle issues, which may improve with treatment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is linked to significant pulmonary haemodynamic alterations.
- Intrathoracic pressure swings during obstructive apnoeas complicate the assessment of pulmonary pressures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the transient and permanent effects of OSAS on pulmonary haemodynamics.
- To explore the relationship between apnoea-induced hypoxia and pulmonary artery pressure.
- To examine the impact of OSAS on right ventricle function.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary wedge pressure, and transmural pressures during sleep.
- Correlation of haemodynamic changes with apnoea severity and oxygen desaturation.
- Assessment of right ventricle hypertrophy and failure in OSAS patients.
Main Results:
- Repeated fluctuations in pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary wedge pressure occur during apnoeas.
- Apnoea-induced hypoxia is a key factor in the progressive increase of pulmonary artery pressure during sleep.
- Permanent pulmonary hypertension is present in less than 50% of OSAS patients and shows limited reversibility.
- Right ventricle failure may be detected instrumentally and appears more reversible than pulmonary hypertension.
Conclusions:
- OSAS significantly impacts pulmonary haemodynamics, causing both acute and chronic changes.
- Sleep-disordered breathing may contribute to permanent pulmonary haemodynamic impairment in susceptible individuals.
- While pulmonary hypertension in OSAS is often poorly reversible, right ventricle dysfunction shows better response to treatment.