Night-time and diastolic hypertension are common and underestimated conditions in newly diagnosed apnoeic patients

Abstract

Hypertension is hugely underdiagnosed in apnoeic patients unknown to be hypertensive. Use of 24-h blood pressure monitoring allowed the diagnosis of twice as much hypertension than did clinical measurement. Even at the beginning of their history of hypertension, apnoeic patients exhibited chronic adaptations of their cardiovascular system, as shown by early changes in baroreflex sensitivity and an increased prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy.