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Kidney transplant patients with sleep apnea are at risk of heart-failure

Written by: David Castillo on November 20th, 2009

Kidney transplant patients with sleep apnea are at risk of heart-failure | read this item

Hungarian researchers claim that Kidney transplant patients—who are suffering from sleep apnea—have an increased risk of high blood pressure.

The conclusion was based on a study conducted on 100 kidney transplant recipients, 25 percent of which had moderate sleep apnea. The researchers noted that the patients suffering from breathing-related sleep disorders are at high-risk for serious heart-related complications.

Kidney transplant patients, who were suffering from sleep apnea, were commonly prescribed with anti-hypertensive drugs, but they still had higher blood pressure compared to the other patients. Researchers also noted that obesity increased a patient’s risk of developing sleep apnea.

“We propose that sleep apnea is a new risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular events in kidney-transplanted patients,” commented Dr. Miklos Zsolt Molnar from Semmelweis University in Budapest. “Physicians should screen transplant patients for obstructive sleep apnea and offer appropriate treatment.”

Source: USNews

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