(NORTHBROOK, IL, March 8, 2004) Patients with sleep apnea may be commonly misdiagnosed with hypertension, says a study published in the March issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. In the study, one third of patients with sleep apnea who were physician-diagnosed with hypertension actually had "white coat hypertension" (WCH), a condition characterized by an increase in blood pressure during a doctor's office visit and normal blood press during all other situations. The study also found that patients with sleep apnea and WCH had a more difficult time falling asleep and had longer periods of wakefulness after falling asleep than sleep apnea patients with normal blood pressure or sustained high blood pressure.

"Although the relationship between hypertension and sleep apnea is well established, our results suggest that the occurrence of WCH could lead to overdiagnosis of hypertension among patients with sleep apnea, thereby leading to potentially flawed conclusions regarding the causative association of hypertension and sleep apnea," said lead researcher Francisco Garcia-Rio, PhD, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.

Researchers from La Paz University Hospital observed the frequency of WCH in patients with sleep apnea and the characteristics of patients with both conditions. Ninety-nine patients with sleep apnea and 20 healthy patients (control group) were included in the study. Of the patients with sleep apnea, 45 patients were physician-diagnosed with hypertension, and the remaining patients were considered to have normal blood pressure levels. During a 24-hour period, all patients underwent regular intervals of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, polysomnography, and blood and urine testing. Results showed that in patients with sleep apnea initially diagnosed with hypertension, 30 patients were confirmed to have sustained hypertension, while the remaining 15 patients had normal blo
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Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
jstawarz@chestnet.org
847-498-8306
American College of Chest Physicians
8-Mar-2004

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