Respiratory Disorders During Sleep Triggers Stroke
Sleep Apnea is a disorder that causes breathing difficulties and even causes a person to suddenly stop breathing during sleep. This condition is known to increase high blood pressure, cause heart failure, stroke, and sleepiness during the day.
A new study suggests that these types of sleep disorders are also associated with lesions or abnormal tissue in the cerebellum. Respiratory disorders during sleep apparently increases the risk of stroke without symptoms or known as a silent stroke.
Researchers from the University of Dresden found that there were 91 percent of patients with sleep apnea to have increased risk of silent stroke. These findings were presented at the International Conference of the American Stroke Association.
“We found very high frequency of sleep apnea with stroke and underlined it as a risk factor for stroke,” said one researcher, Dr. Jessica Kepplinger.
Not only that, the researchers also found five episodes of sleep apnea related to silent stroke. More than a third of people have a small brain lesions that are severe, and more than half of people who experience silent strokes is certain to experience sleep apnea.
The researchers conducted tests on 56 men with an average age of 67 years old. This test is intended to determine stroke and silent brain lesions. According to the Huffingtonpost, between 20-25 percent of people aged 60 years or more, will become more prone to silent stroke.
Silent stroke have no symptoms, meaning that a person usually does not know that he had been hit by it. Silent stroke is often associated with memory loss, difficulty in walking, and mood problems.
“Silent stroke have no symptoms, which means that a person usually does not know he’s experienced it,” reported tha ABC News.
Silent stroke has become an epidemic in the United States, said Dr. Megan C. Leary. Even without symptoms, this condition can accumulate over the years.
Besides the risks of silent stroke, it was previously known that women with sleep apnea have risks of developing dementia.
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