Obstructive sleep apnea in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), a highly prevalent public health problem, is characterized by a recurrent apnea and hypopnea during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most frequent subtype of SAS, which is caused by a complete or partial obstruction of the upper airway during nocturnal sleep (1). Except for leading to a decline in sleep quality decline and daytime sleepiness, OSA is considered to be a risk factor for many cardiovascular diseases like, coronary artery disease, hypertension, heart failure, arrhythmia and pulmonary hypertension (PH). The underlying mechanism that causes this may be relevant to an exaggerated negative intrathoracic pressure, sympathetic activation, oxidative stress, systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction (2)