Improving quality of life in patients with sleep apnea and stroke

Introduction. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is the most frequent pathology among respiratory disorders during sleep and determines multiple sleep fragmentations causing excessive daytime sleepiness. The stroke represents an important death cause worldwide and the most frequent cause of disability on long term. This study shows the improvement of the quality of life in patients with sleep apnea syndrome and stroke, who follow the continous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, in comparison with those who refused this therapy. Material and method. I conducted a study on 262 patients between 18 and 83 years old, admitted in the „Bagdasar Arseni” Clinical Emergency Hospital and the „Marius Nasta” Pneumology Institute between 01.01.2014 – 25.05.2015 and diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, with or without CPAP treatment, 12 of these patients having a stroke in their medical history. Results. All of the patients with history of stroke, regardless of the CPAP therapy use, were asked to complete the quality of life questionnaire SF-36. In the group of patients who were following the CPAP treatment it was registered an improvement on the quality of life. Conclusions. Present data show that OSAS can be a predisposing risk factor for stroke. At the moment there aren’t any guidelines to state if patients with stroke should be commonly investigated for sleep apnea syndrome.