Severity of obstructive sleep apnea is associated with elevated plasma fibrinogen in otherwise healthy patients

Purpose Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been implicated in both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Systemic inflammation and coagulation may be related to cardiovascular pathophysiology in patients with OSA. Fibrinogen is a major coagulation protein associated with inflammation, and long-term elevated plasma fibrinogen is associated with an increased risk of major cardiovascular diseases. We assessed whether severity of OSA is associated with levels of fibrinogen in newly diagnosed, untreated, and otherwise healthy OSA patients.