Ischaemic stroke, snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea

SUMMARY  Ischaemic stroke occurs most often during the morning hours before noon. In recent studies the peak time of onset has been between 10.00 and 12.00 hours. Snoring every night or almost every night (habitual snoring) is in relation with ischaemic stroke. Snoring occasionally, on the contrary, is not significantly related with stroke. Habitual snoring is the most typical sign of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and it is strongly associated with being overweight. Other possible pathophysiological factors that are in relation with habitual snoring, obstructive sleep apnoea and stroke include arterial hypertension, changes in fibrinolytic activity, adult onset diabetes and smoking. It remains to be seen whether nightly occurring partial upper airway obstruction (habitual snoring) with intrathoracic pressure changes is an independent risk factor of ischaemic stroke. There is recent evidence that everything cannot be explained by other known risk factors.