Increase of the pressure in the arterial system, in the arteries of the systemic circulation (systemic hypertension).
WHO classifies hypertension in three grades:
- 140/159 mm Hg for systolic – 90/99 mm Hg for diastolic.
- 160/179 mm Hg for systolic, 100/109 for diastolic
- over 180 mm Hg for systolic,
Hypertension often causes headache, sensory disturbances (tinnitus, vertigo), cramping of the extremities and can lead to serious complications: stroke, heart failure, kidney failure.
Usually essential, it can sometimes be secondary to cardiac malformation, or renal or adrenal disease.
It is very common in sleep apnea syndromes, and in this case often with peak nighttime blood pressure, always suspect when nocturnal snoring and / or daytime sleepiness associated. Polysomnography then will confirm the diagnosis. 1/3 of hypertensive sleep apnea and 1/3 of apneic patients have blood hypertesnion.
However, the relationship between hypertension and sleep apnea could be a correlation without direct causation proven.