Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Sleep Apnea Stroke

The link between sleep apnea and stroke describes how recurrent breathing interruptions during sleep, predominantly obstructive sleep apnea, function as a modifiable risk factor for cerebrovascular events. During obstructive episodes the airway narrows or collapses, producing intermittent hypoxemia, sharp fluctuatio…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 8 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 38× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2574-4518 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

The link between sleep apnea and stroke describes how recurrent breathing interruptions during sleep, predominantly obstructive sleep apnea, function as a modifiable risk factor for cerebrovascular events. During obstructive episodes the airway narrows or collapses, producing intermittent hypoxemia, sharp fluctuations in blood pressure, and repeated arousals that drive sympathetic activation. These cyclical disturbances promote endothelial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, impaired cerebral autoregulation, hypercoagulability, and atrial arrhythmia, each of which raises the likelihood of ischemic injury to the brain. The relationship is bidirectional: untreated apnea increases stroke incidence, while stroke itself can impair central respiratory control and worsen disordered breathing during sleep. Conditions that aggravate upper-airway obstruction, including craniofacial or cervical skeletal abnormalities, and comorbidities such as diabetes that share vascular risk pathways, can intensify this hazard. Objective characterization through polysomnography quantifies apnea frequency and the depth of accompanying oxygen desaturation, supporting risk stratification. Because the underlying obstruction is treatable, interventions that restore airway patency during sleep, including positive-airway-pressure therapy and airway-maintaining devices, are central to secondary prevention. Recognizing and treating sleep apnea is therefore an important component of comprehensive stroke risk management, situated within the broader study of how sleep-disordered breathing affects vascular and neurological health.

Research published in this journal

8 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 8 articles above have been cited 38 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Sleep Apnea Stroke, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Sleep And Sleep Disorder Research (ISSN 2574-4518).

Journal editorial board
Dragos Octavian Palade · Romania Mauro Manconi · Switzerland Karim Sedky · United States

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.