Obstructive and nonobstructive apneas elicit substantial increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity and arterial pressure. The time course of change in these variables suggests a causal relationship; however, mechanical influences, such as release of negative intrathoracic pressure and reinflation of the lungs, are potential contributors to the arterial pressure rise. To test the hypothesis...

Background & Objective:  Islamic fasting is observed by millions of Muslims across the world during the holy month of Ramadan and other specific  days of the lunar year. Fasting  Muslims  abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset. Depending on season and geographical location, Muslims  maintain fasting for approximately 13-18 hours per day. The present study aimed to review the be...

Fletcher, Eugene C. Invited Review: Physiological consequences of intermittent hypoxia: systemic blood pressure. J Appl Physiol 90: 1600–1605, 2001.—One of the major manifestations of obstructive sleep apnea is profound and repeated hypoxia during sleep. Acute hypoxia leads to stimulation of the peripheral chemoreceptors, which in turn increases sympathetic outflow, acutely increasing blood pre...

A mechanical lung was used to evaluate the pressure and flow characteristics of four demand and two continuous flow intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) systems. The amount of negative pressure required to initiate inspiratory flow and peak expiratory resistance were measured. The inspiratory pressure required to initiate flow in the demand mode was also compared to pressures generated in t...

The arm-ankle systolic pressure gradient was measured in 165 male patients with intermittent claudication and was correlated with different combinations of known cardiovascular risk factors. The pressure gradient increased with increasing number of risk factors. We conclude that intermittent claudication may be used as a simple model for studies of arteriosclerosis, the arm-ankle systolic press...

Slow breathing practiced routinely using an interactive device has demonstrated a sustained reduction in high blood pressure (BP). We reevaluated the BP response of hypertensives (n = 13) to this daily treatment for 8 weeks using 24-h ambulatory, home, and office BP measurements. A clinically significant BP reduction of similar magnitude was observed in all BP monitoring modalities during the d...

Although neonatal nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) is widely used today, its place in neonatal respiratory support is yet to be fully defined. Current evidence indicates that NIPPV after extubation of very premature infants reduces the rate of reintubation. However, much is still not known about NIPPV including its mechanisms of action. It may improve pulmonary mechanism...