Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may also lower blood pressure among hypertensive adults, according to researcher Dr. Ferran E. Barbé, from Spain, who presented his findings at the American Thoracic Society’s 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Sunday, May 18.
The study included 394 consecutive patients with high blood pressure and non-sleepy OSA — those with mild enough OSA that their daytime alertness was unaffected. They were randomized to receive either CPAP or no treatment.
Patients’ blood pressure was measured at three-month, six-month, and 12-month follow-ups after their baseline evaluation.
On average, the researchers found patients who were compliant with their CPAP therapy, meaning those patients who consistently used the CPAP machine during sleep, experienced an average 2mm/Hg drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure at the end of the year when compared to patients who did not use the CPAP machine.
“This is the largest study trial in the field and it shows that CPAP has an effect on cardiovascular outcomes regardless of symptoms,” said Ferran E. Barbé, M.D., who headed the research.
“This suggests that CPAP can not only be used to treat the symptoms of sleep apnea, but also to reduce cardiovascular risk in apneic patients,” Barbé said.
The patients for whom the effect was most produced used the CPAP machine for more than five hours a night.
“The mechanism by which CPAP is able to effect a drop in blood pressure is complex and it is mainly related to a reduction in sympathetic tone, oxidative stress,” Barbé explained.
“In the future, we would like to know the effects of CPAP treatment on other cardiovascular outcomes such as stroke, myocardial infarction or heart failure,” said Barbé.
Technorati Tags: obstructive sleep apnea, sleep disordered breathing, OSA, CPAP, BiPAP, xPAP, continuous positive airway pressure, high blood pressure, hypertension, hypertensive adults, American Thoracic Society, daytime alertness, non-sleepy, compliant, compliance, therapy, sleeping, sleepiness, daytime sleepiness, lower blood pressure, cardiovascular outcomes, symptoms, apneic, patients, drop in blood pressure, sympathetic tone, oxidative stress, strokes, myocardial infarction, heart failure, heart attacks, memory loss, Ferran E. Barbé
__________
You must log in to post a comment.