Long-term effect of continuous positive airway pressure therapy on blood pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Long-term effect of obstructive sleep apnoea management on blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension: the SARAH study

BACKGROUND

There is a close relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and resistant hypertension (RH). However, studies assessing the long-term effect of diagnosing and treating OSA on blood pressure (BP) control in these patients are lacking.

METHODS

To address this gap, we recruited 478 RH patients from hypertension units and followed them prospectively after they were screened for OSA through a sleep study. By performing 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) annually, the effect of OSA management was assessed.

RESULTS

The patients had a median (interquartile range (IQR)) age of 64.0 (57.2-69.0) years, 67% were males and most were nonsleepy, with a median (IQR) apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of 15.8 (7.9-30.7) events·h-1. The median (IQR) follow-up time was 3.01 (2.93-3.12) years. At baseline, severe OSA was associated with uncontrolled BP, nocturnal hypertension and a nondipper circadian BP pattern. Moreover, these patients had higher BP values during follow-up than did patients in the other groups. However, among patients with moderate and severe OSA, the management of sleep disordered breathing, including the implementation of continuous positive airway pressure treatment, was associated with a reduction in 24-h ABPM parameters, especially night-time BP values, at the 1-year follow-up. These benefits were attenuated over time and only subjects with severe OSA maintained an ABPM night-time reduction at 3 years. Furthermore, clinical variables such as uncontrolled BP, sex and age showed a predictive value for the BP response at 1 year of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

A favourable long-term decrease in BP was detected by diagnosing and treating OSA in a cohort of RH patients from hypertension units, but over time this decrease was only partially maintained in severe OSA patients.

Beneficial Effects of Early Intervention Telemedicine-based Follow-Up in Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Controlled Multicenter Trial

Rationale: Positive airway pressure (PAP) is standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Telemedicine has been introduced for improved PAP follow-up. Objectives: Our study aim was to evaluate the clinical utility of and patient satisfaction with PAP follow-up with an early intervention telemedical protocol. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at four sleep clinics of the same county. Treatment-naive patients with obstructive sleep apnea were randomized to standard PAP follow-up (203 patients, fixed follow-up procedures) or early intervention telemedical follow-up (AirView, ResMed; 206 patients, continuous follow-up) for 3 months. Evaluated variables included PAP adherence at 3 months, patient-reported outcome measures (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, 36-item Short Form Health Survey, Insomnia Severity Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and staff time. Group differences were analyzed with linear mixed regression models adjusted for age, body mass index, apnea-hypopnea index, and study center. Results: The study groups were comparable at baseline (N = 409; mean age, 59 ± 12 yr; body mass index, 31.9 ± 6 kg/m2, apnea-hypopnea index, 41.5 ± 21 events/h). PAP adherence was higher in the proactive telemedicine group than in the control group (4.3 ± 2.4 and 4.1 ± 2.6 h/night; P = 0.01, respectively), and mean mask pressure at follow-up was significantly lower in the telemedicine group than in the control group (8.7 ± 2.1 cm H2O vs. 9.2 ± 2.5 cm H2O; P = 0.028). In post hoc analysis, the difference in PAP adherence between groups was most pronounced in patients with depression (4.8 ± 2.6 h/night vs. 2.7 ± 2.3 h/night; P = 0.03). Relevant mask leakage (>24 L/min) was lower in the telemedicine group (5.4% vs. 12.1%, P = 0.024). Improvement of patient-reported outcome measures and patient satisfaction was equivalent between groups. Conclusions: Proactive telemedical management of the initial follow-up of PAP treatment compared favorably with conventional follow-up in terms of adherence, pressure level, and mask leakage. Patients with depression may particularly benefit from telemedical follow-up. Specific clinical routines are required to establish this practice in sleep clinics. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03446560).

From Snoring to Soaring: Unveiling the Positive Effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Ventilation on Cardiovascular Health in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Through a Systematic Review

Increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and death are linked to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The primary method of treating OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). CPAP has some debatable outcomes on CV events in people suffering from OSA. The current study investigates how CPAP affects CV outcomes. The goal is to evaluate CPAP's effectiveness in lowering CV outcomes in OSA patients. We used a computer to search the PubMed, PubMed Central Library, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases for studies comparing the effects of CPAP and a control group on CV outcomes in OSA patients. These included randomised control trials (RCT), narrative reviews, systematic reviews, case-control studies, observational studies and meta-analyses. A total of 52,937 patients were included in the final analysis of six RCTs, four observational studies, 10 meta-analyses, one case-control study, two systematic reviews and one narrative review. The weighted mean follow-up lasted for a period of between three months and nine years. The risk of major cardiovascular adverse events (MACE) was the same for both the CPAP and control groups. According to subgroup analysis, patients with lower MACE adherence rates (four hours per night) were more likely to use CPAP. The risk of all-cause mortality, CV-related complications causing mortality, acute myocardial infarction acute stroke, or hospitalisations for angina was the same in the CPAP and control groups. The primary outcome was that in patients with therapy with CPAP in addition to usual care and usual care alone did not prevent CV events in patients with moderate-to-severe OSA and existing CV illness. Patients with OSA who utilise CPAP may not experience fewer CV events. Patients who use CPAP consistently (four hours per night) could benefit from improved CV results. Future research must assess how well-adherent patients with severe OSA and low CV event rates respond to CPAP therapy. In patients who use CPAP for more than four hours each night, CPAP therapy may minimise the risk of MACE and stroke. Additional randomised trials requiring adequate CPAP time adherence are needed to support this perception. Despite the fact that there is no evidence to support the claim that CPAP therapy improves CV outcomes, bias difficulties, CPAP adherence problems, and the patient groups included in each RCT may have made it more difficult to generalise the findings to all patients. Future research is therefore needed to look at these relevant results.

Effectiveness of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in Treating Hypertension in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Traditional Review

Almost one billion individuals worldwide suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The most widely used treatment for OSA has been continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), but its effect on blood pressure (BP) has been challenged. Our review aims to evaluate the effects of treating OSA with CPAP on BP and BP-related morbidities in adult hypertensive patients. Medical subject headings (MeSH) terminology was used to search the PubMed Central, MEDLINE, and PubMed databases for articles on the use of CPAP in OSA patients with hypertension. We selected various forms of academic writing, encompassing complete texts that were published in the English language. The study included a total of 21 papers. OSA is a serious health concern associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, pulmonary hypertension, and aortic stiffness, which is brought on by the periodic hypoxia caused by nocturnal respiratory episodes. For individuals with moderate-to-severe OSA, CPAP therapy has been shown to have a considerable long-term benefit with a median drop of 11 mm Hg, and high adherence results in a decrease in diastolic BP. CPAP therapy directly lowers BP in OSA patients with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 kg/m2 and has also demonstrated improvement in early signs of atherosclerosis with lower nocturnal systolic BP levels. OSA patients with resistant hypertension also experienced lower BP after using CPAP for a year. Therefore, our findings suggest that obesity, hypersomnolence, high nocturnal BP, prolonged CPAP usage, and resistant hypertension may all have a major impact on the BP response to CPAP therapy in individuals with severe OSA.

Long-Term Adherence in Overweight Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Hypertension-A Pilot Prospective Cohort Study

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, sedentarism, depression, anxiety and impaired quality of life. The long-term effectiveness of positive airway pressure (PAP) is insufficiently studied and limited by poor patient compliance. The aim of this pilot prospective cohort study was to evaluate long-term adherence in overweight patients with moderate-severe OSA and hypertension and to analyze changes in weight, sleepiness and quality of life. We performed a prospective study that included overweight patients with moderate-severe OSA and hypertension who had not undergone previous PAP therapy. All subjects received a standard physical examination, education regarding lifestyle changes and free PAP therapy for 2 months. After five years, the patients were invited to participate in a telephone-based interview regarding PAP compliance and completed standard questionnaires assessing adherence to medication, physical activity, diet, anxiety and quality of life (QoL). Only 39.58% of the patients were adherent to PAP 5 years (58.42 ± 3.70 months) after being diagnosed with moderate-severe OSA. Long-term PAP use results in sustained weight loss; improved blood pressure control, sleepiness and QOL; and lower anxiety and depression scores. PAP compliance was not associated with a higher level of daily physical activity or a healthier diet.

Effect of switching from continuous to bilevel positive airway pressure on sleep quality in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: the prospective POP IN VAuto study

Background

Issues with tolerability and side effects can decrease continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device usage and the benefits of therapy. Different positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy modes providing expiratory pressure relief or using a different pressure during inspiration vs. expiration (bilevel PAP) may alleviate some of these issues. This multicenter, prospective study evaluated the effects of switching from CPAP to bilevel PAP (VAuto mode) on respiratory parameters, device usage, side effects and patient-reported outcomes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods

Eligible OSA patients had started CPAP ≥3 months previously, had good compliance (mean 6.1±2.0 h/night) and well-controlled OSA [residual apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 4.9±3.1/h] but had pressure tolerance issues or persistent side effects/discomfort. All were switched from CPAP to bilevel PAP (AirCurve 10 VAuto; ResMed). Effectiveness (residual AHI), sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, therapy-related side effects, and patient satisfaction/preference were assessed after 3 months and 1 year.

Results

Forty patients were analyzed (68% male, age 64±11 years, body mass index 30.7±5.8 kg/m²). At 3 months and 1 year after switching to bilevel PAP, median [interquartile range] residual AHI was 4/h [2-5.3] and 3.7/h [1.8-5], respectively, and device usage was 7.0 [4.9-7.5] and 6.4 [4.4-7.3] h/night, respectively. Device switch was associated with significant reductions from baseline in expiratory PAP {from 12 [11-13] to 8 [7-9] cmH₂O at 3 months (P<0.001) and 9 [8-12] cmH₂O at 1 year (P=0.005)}, 95^th percentile pressure {from 14 [12-14] to 10 [9-11] and 10 [8-11] cmH2O; P<0.001 and P=0.001, respectively} and leak {from 1 [0-6] to 0 [0-1] and 0 [0-2] L/min; P=0.049 and P=0.033, respectively}. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score decreased significantly from baseline to 3 and 6 months [7.2±4.0 to 5.0±3.2 (P=0.005) and 4.5±2.7 (P<0.001), respectively]. CPAP-related mouth dryness, choking sensation and aerophagia were significantly improved one year after switching to bilevel PAP. Bilevel PAP was preferred over CPAP by 90% of patients.

Conclusions

Switching to bilevel PAP had several benefits in patients struggling with CPAP, facilitating therapy acceptance and ongoing device usage.

Obstruktive Schlafapnoe und arterielle Hypertonie

Hintergrund

In Deutschland leiden rund 19 Mio. Patienten an einer diagnostizierten arteriellen Hypertonie (aHT). Die Schnittmenge zwischen Menschen mit aHT und obstruktiver Schlafapnoe (OSA) ist groß. Aufwachreaktionen und Hypoxämie im Rahmen einer OSA können zu einem gesteigerten Sympathikotonus und endothelialer Dysfunktion und somit zu aHT führen.

Fragestellung

Der vorliegende Übersichtsartikel soll die Zusammenhänge zwischen OSA und aHT sowie Behandlungsmöglichkeiten darstellen.

Materialien und Methoden

Es erfolgte eine Literaturrecherche von Original- und Übersichtsartikeln, die bis 2021 in der PubMed-Datenbank veröffentlicht wurden.

Ergebnisse

Obstruktive Schlafapnoe kann sowohl die Entstehung als auch die Verschlechterung einer aHT verursachen. Betroffene profitieren von einer CPAP-Behandlung mit einer durchschnittlichen Senkung des systolischen Blutdrucks um −4,4 mm Hg sowie des diastolischen Blutdrucks um −2,9 mm Hg. Prädiktoren für eine Reduktion des Blutdrucks unter kontinuierlicher Positivdrucktherapie (CPAP) sind junges Alter, therapieresistente aHT, schwere OSA-bedingte Sauerstoffentsättigungen und ein „Non-Dipping-Blutdruckmuster“.

Schlussfolgerung

Die adäquate Behandlung einer aHT fordert häufig einen multimodalen Ansatz. Neben einer medikamentösen antihypertensiven Therapie und einer Modifikation des Lebensstils sollte auch die Diagnose und gegebenenfalls die Behandlung einer OSA berücksichtigt werden.