An integrated approach to managing sleep disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease

Despite its prevalence, most cases of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) go unrecognized by the medical community, creating a mismatch between disease pervasiveness and medical appreciation of its impact. Of particular importance is that 30% of those with cardiovascular disease (CVD) have some type of sleep disorder. One explanation for this lack of recognition and under-appreciation is that common symptoms seen with SDB are non-specific and are present in many acute and chronic conditions. This article will present a brief review of current processes used to diagnose and treat SDB, followed by a discussion of the overlap that exists between CVD and SDB, and present an argument that these chronic conditions should not be considered and managed as separate entities.