Tianjin Medical Journal ›› 2025, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (8): 889-896.doi: 10.11958/20251155

• Review • Previous Articles    

Research progress on the bidirectional relationship between sleep-related breathing disorders and pulmonary hypertension

DU Xintao(), SUO Ying, ZHAO Xiaoyun()   

  1. Clinical College of Thoracic Medicine, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300222, China; Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tianjin Chest Hospital
  • Received:2025-03-21 Revised:2025-06-05 Published:2025-08-15 Online:2025-08-12
  • Contact: E-mail:zxydoctor@163.com

Abstract:

Sleep-related breathing disorders (SBDs) are a group of disorders characterized by abnormal breathing patterns during sleep, with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) being the most common type. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized pathophysiologically by pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling, with initial clinical diagnosis typically relying on echocardiography. SBDs and PH have a bidirectional relationship in many aspects, with shared pathophysiological mechanisms such as hypoxia, inflammation and oxidative stress being common. The percentage of sleep time with nocturnal oxygen saturation <0.90 (T90) can assess the risk of pulmonary hemodynamic and right ventricular function deterioration in OSA patients, but this indicator still has limitation in clinical application. Currently, there is limited domestic research on the bidirectional relationship between SBDs and PH in China. This article reviews the bidirectional relationship between SBDs and PH in terms of epidemiology, potential mechanisms, screening and treatment. It also analyzes the relevance of OSA and PH based on current domestic and international clinical studies, providing a theoretical basis for further exploration of these two diseases.

Key words: sleep apnea, obstructive, pulmonary arterial hypertension, sleep-related breathing disorders, intermittent hypoxia, hypoxic burden, global longitudinal strain

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