Sleep apnea in stroke patients: hard to diagnose, even harder to treat

Abstract

This article summarizes the current knowledge regarding sleep apnea in stroke patients. There are two major problems with sleep apnea in stroke patients. First, awareness of this disease is low in both the affected people and the medical professionals who treat them. Second, once sleep apnea has been diagnosed, it is difficult to treat since 80–90% of stroke patients refuse continuous positive airway pressure therapy, which is the most effective treatment. However, the 10–20% of patients who tolerate continuous positive airway pressure therapy may recover more rapidly, have less disability and are less likely to suffer from a new cardiovascular event than the majority of patients who cannot be treated. Unfortunately, treatment alternatives are scarce; surgery as well as oral appliances are usually not an option. One could consider drug treatment but, at present, there are no convincing data that stroke patients may profit from that kind of medication.