[Obstructive sleep apneas and arteriosclerosis]

The clinical importance of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome underlies in its association with a major morbimortality principally in relation with adverse vascular events. Different physiopathologic mechanisms boosted by the recurrence of obstructive apnea episodes including alterations in several inflammatory mediators, metabolic factors associated with a dysfunction of vascular endothelium and the development of arterial hypertension would lead to an acceleration of the atherosclerotic process responsible in causality degree of the increment of cardiovascular disease in these patients.