Does Sleep Apnea Affect the Outcome of Stroke Patients?

Sleep apnea is described as an isolated risk factor for stroke or recurrent stroke which could be cause of death. In our study, the aim was to determine whether sleep apnea affects the outcome of stroke patients.

This is a prospective study in which a group of 110 patients in the acute phase of a stroke was evaluated sleep apnea. Acute stroke has been diagnosed either by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. There was no significant difference in patient's age with or without sleep apnea neither in men nor women. Neurological, neuropsychiatric, pulmonary test were performed in all patients at five different time periods. In these time periods, all patients were evaluated: Glasgow scale, The American National Institutes of Health Scale Assessment, Mini Mental Test, The Sleep and snoring Questionnaire Test, The Berlin Questionnaire Test, The Epworth Sleepiness Scale, The Stanford Sleepiness Scale and The general sleep questionnaire.

One year after the onset of stroke, 91 (82.7%) of 110 patients with apnea survived. The survival rate of patients with sleep apnea is significantly lower than without sleep apnea (p=0.01). In men with apnea, the survival rate was significantly lower in patients without apnea (p=0.004). The largest number of survivors of apnea had diabetes mellitus, followed by survival of patients with heart disease, body mass index >29 kg/m² and hypertension, with hyperlipoproteinemia and smoking. The highest number of survivors without apnea was body mass index >29 kg/m², followed by survival of patients with hyperlipoproteinemia, heart disease, hypertension, smoking, and diabetes mellitus.

Patients with sleep apnea have a significant correlation in survival rates compared with sexually and age-matched subjects, associated with concomitant risk factors such as hypertension, body mass index, and smoking.