| Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) show augmented ventilatory, sympathetic and cardiovascular responses to hypoxia. The facilitatory effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on the hypoxic ventilatory response has been attributed to a potentiation of the carotid body (CB) chemosensory response to hypoxia. However, it is a matter of debate whether the effects induced by CIH on ventilatory responses to hypoxia are due to an enhanced CB activity. Recently, we studied the effects of short cyclic hypoxic episodes on cat cardiorespiratory reflexes, heart rate variability, and CB chemosensory activity. Cats were exposed to cyclic hypoxic episodes repeated during 8 hours for 4 days. Our results showed that CIH selectively enhanced ventilatory and... |
