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Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Effects On Blood Pressure Essay

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Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in Those with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the Effects on Blood Pressure

One issue faced daily in primary care is the incidence of hypertension. This disease impacts approximately 25% of the adult population in the world. Risk factors for hypertension include genetics, poor diet, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and other disease processes. In addition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been recognized as an additional risk factor in the development of hypertension according to European and US guidelines (Pepin et al, 2014). According to Ohio State physicians Magalang and Valentine, (2015), there are possibly ten million people who have resistant hypertension, and most of those have OSA. In contrast, the National Sleep Foundation explains that sleep apnea affects more than 18 million people (Sleepapnea.org, n.d.). These numbers are staggering. A diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea increases a patient’s chances of developing hypertension. With this information in mind, it is prudent to recognize the correlation between treating obstructive sleep apnea with CPAP therapy and the benefits of this therapy in regards to blood pressure. Keeping in mind that many patients with sleep apnea have hypertension, questions remain regarding treatment options. Today, many patients use more than two medications in order to decrease their blood pressures; unfortunately, this does not always work (Magalang & Valentine, 2015). If it is our duty as

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