Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common recommended treatment for people who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). While OSA increases serious health risks such as heart disease, a new study is suggesting that CPAP therapy may rapidly decrease those risks as it quickly improves arterial tone and blood pressure.
On Wednesday, June 4, at SLEEP 2014 principal investigator Claudia Korcarz, DVM, RDCS, senior scientist and manager at the University of Wisconsin Atherosclerosis Imaging Research Program (UW AIRP) in Madison and her research team presented their findings.
The study used 47 adults who have been recently diagnosed with OSA, with average age of the group being 41. The volunteers were evaluated before undergoing CPAP therapy, after 3 months of CPAP therapy, and for 1 week after stopping therapy. Central aortic blood pressures, carotid to radial artery pulse wave velocity, brachial artery size and flow-mediated dilation were all measured throughout the study.
For volunteers to be considered compliant and using CPAP therapy correctly, they had to undergo the treatment for four hours per night. Of the 47 volunteers, 37 of them meet the criteria, using CPAP therapy for around 6.1 hours per night
Among the compliant volunteers, their results showed a significant reduction of their systolic and diastolic blood pressures as well as decreased arterial stiffness and vascular tone. After one week of treatment withdrawal, their improvements declined to their baseline results.
Korarz stresses the importance of the findings, saying, “The early diagnosis and treatment with well-monitored, continuous use of CPAP therapy in otherwise healthy young adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea might prevent the future development of hypertension and reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications associated with the disease.”
If you suspect that you have sleep apnea, you shouldn’t hesitate speaking to a licensed physician or sleep specialist!
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