Even mild sleep apnea increases cardiovascular risk

"People with even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness, according to a study from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the UK. 'It was previously known that people with OSA severe enough to affect their daytime alertness and manifest in other ways are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but this finding suggests that many more people—some of whom may be completely unaware that they even have OSA—are at risk than previously thought,' said lead author of the study, Malcolm Kohler, M.D. The study will be published in the first issue for November of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine" - EurekAlert