Reb-oxy and arterial baroreflex cardiovascular modulation in OSA
OSA, orthostatic hypotension, overactivity of sympathetic cardiovascular, arrhythmias, cardiovascular complications
AUTONOMIC IMBALANCE, ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION, ORTHOSTATIC HYPOTENSION, ARRHYTHMIAS, CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS
An unbalanced cardiac baroreflex modulation has been shown to favor cardiovascular complications and arrhythmias. Particularly, in OSA patients the known reduction in BRS during both wake and sleep is associated with the development of arterial hypertension and with excessive daytime sleepinessMoreover, our study demonstrates that reb-oxy largely decreased the power of SBP and DBP oscillations at LF, which have been suggested to be an expression of the resonance in the baroreflex loop at a frequency of 0.1 Hz, considered a surrogate measure for sympathetic vascular regulation. Thus, when considering all the above findings, our study suggests the occurrence of a reduction in the overactivity of sympathetic cardiovascular control induced by sleep apneas in OSA patients after one week of reb-oxy treatment. This reduction, however, was not accompanied by major alterations in posture-induced changes in cardiovascular control, as demonstrated by the lack of orthostatic hypotension and other signs of autonomic imbalance.The improvement in baroreflex cardiac modulation we observed during wake is likely to represent a positive consequence of nocturnal apneas reduction, as previously reported after long-term OSA treatment with CPAP