Abstract
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) affects approximately 4% of men and 2% of women in the middle ages but many of these patients are not diagnosed or treated. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality are associated with sleep apnoea. This causal link has been confirmed in recent years on the basis of epidemiological, experimental and therapeutic data. The prevalence in the general population and the impact on the genesis and evolution of systemic and pulmonary arterial hypertension, of cardiac rhythm disorders, of coronary artery disease, of heart failure and of strokes should encourage clinicians to early diagnose and treat sleep disordered breathing and, if possible, to prevent them.