Abstract: Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a common condition caused by intermittent airway collapse during sleep resulting in repetitive hypoxia and excessive daytime sleepiness. The epidemiologic evidence has confirmed that OSAHS can drastically promote the risks of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias，coronary arterial disease，and congestive heart failure. However, the mechanisms behind the increased cardiovascular diseases risks in OSAHS remain elusive. The potential pathophysiological interaction of cardiovascular diseases with OSAHS, and improvement of cardiovascular diseases after OSAHS treatment make the studies on the correlation between OSAHS and cardiovascular diseases to be hotspot in recent years.

Key words: Cardiovascular diseases, Risk factors, Sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome, obstructive