Watch Now: Sleep Apnea and High Blood Pressure

Do you have high blood pressure and sleepless nights?  Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) might be a factor in your high blood pressure, says Timothy Grant, M.D., medical director of Baptist Sleep Center at Sunset.

About 18 million Americans have OSA, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

OSA is a common sleep disorder that involves lapses in breathing during sleep. OSA occurs when muscles relax when you’re asleep, which causes the soft tissue in the back of the throat to collapse and block the airway. Pauses in breathing can last from 10 seconds to a minute or more, and end when the body briefly awakes to gasp for air. This cycle  can continue all night long. A person with severe OSA may stop breathing hundreds of times throughout a night.

(Watch the video to learn more about sleep apnea and high blood pressure from Dr. Grant, who spoke at a recent Community Health event.)

Dr. Grant recommends that people who don’t feel rested after a night of sleep should speak to their doctor about a referral to a sleep specialist if necessary. Most sleep disorders can be diagnosed with a sleep study in a sleep diagnostic center such as those at Baptist, South Miami, Homestead and Mariners Hospitals, and at freestanding centers like Baptist Sleep Centers at Sunset, Galloway, Miami Lakes and Pembroke Pines.