High ventilatory response to hypoxia in hypertensive patients with sleep apnea

The ventilatory response to hypoxia (VRH) in relation to daytime arterial blood pressure was studied in 37 patients with the sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). The patients were divided into hypertensives (n = 16) and normotensives (n = 21). The hypertensive group had a significantly higher VRH (ventilatory increase 1.48 1/min BTPS per percent decrease in arterial oxygen saturation) than the normotensive group (0.69 1/min/%, P less than 0.01). The observed difference raises the question whether a high chemoreceptor sensitivity to hypoxaemia can contribute in causing arterial hypertension among cases with SAS.