Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal

  Background and Objectives: Sleep apnea involves repetitive cycles of obstructive sleep that disrupt sleep. This complication is the most important modifiable risk factors for stroke. The aim of this study was to assess sleep apnea in patients with stroke. 

  Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 132 patients with stroke were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were gathered using the Berlin Questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests.

  Results: The mean age of participants was 69/5 ± 11/6 years. The results showed that 54.5% of the patients were at high risk of sleep apnea. Moreover, there were significant differences between systolic (p=0.0001) and diastolic (p<0.01) blood pressures in high and low risk groups for sleep apnea.

  Conclusion: Regarding the high prevalence of sleep apnea in patients with stroke and the relationship between sleep apnea with high blood pressure, it is recommended to use screening procedures to identify high risk patients.