Sleep Related Breathing Disorders

The Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: New Findings for Antenatal and Inpatient Care by Prof. Dr. med. Werner Rath, Prof. Dr. med. Thorsten Fischer in volume 45/2009

Sleep apneas are a further risk factor that should not be underestimated for the development of arterial hypertension in pregnancy. Patients with pre-eclampsia often have early signs of obstructive sleep apnea. Even the mere occurrence of snoring during pregnancy bore a 1.8-fold increased risk for developing hypertension in pregnancy (1), and obstructive sleep apnea increased this risk 7.5-fold (2). The endothelial dysfunction that is typical for obstructive sleep apnea in adults is also found in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. A tried and tested therapeutic option is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) (3).
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2010.00227a

Dr. med. Holger Hein
Bahnhofstr. 9
21465 Reinbek, Germany

References

1. Pérez-Chada D, Videla AJ, O'Flaherty ME, et al.: Snoring, witnessed sleep apnoeas and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2007; 86: 788–92.

2. Champagne K, Schwartzman K, Opatrny L, et al.: Obstructive sleep apnoea and its association with gestational hypertension. Eur Respir J 2009; 33: 559–65.

3. Edwards N, Blyton DM, Kirjavainen T, Kesby GJ, Sullivan CE: Nasal continuous positive airway pressure reduces sleep-induced blood pressure increments in preeclampsia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000; 162(1): 252–7.

4. Rath W, Fischer T: The diagnosis and treatment of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy—New findings for antenatal and inpatient care [Diagnostik und Therapie hypertensiver Schwangerschaftserkrankungen – Neue Ergebnisse für Praxis und Klinik].Dtsch Arztebl Int 2009; 106(45): 733–8.