Innate Sleep Apnea in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Is Associated With Microvascular Rarefaction and Neuronal Loss in the preBötzinger Complex.

Therefore, we postulate that hypertension induces SA through vascular damage in the respiratory column, culminating in neuronal loss in the inspiratory oscillator. This induction of SA, which, in turn, will independently exacerbate hypertension and neural inflammation, increases the rate of vascular dementia.