- Obstructive sleep apnea can cause people to stop and start breathing many times during the night.
- Researchers report that people with obstructive sleep apnea who use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine at least four hours per night can reduce their risk of cardiovascular events.
- They note that CPAP machines can also help to lower blood pressure.
People with cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnea who used a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device for four or more hours per day had a significantly lower risk of having a major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular event, according to a
A meta-analysis of three randomized clinical trials that included information on 4,186 individuals found that the adherent use of CPAP machines for obstructive sleep apnea significantly reduced major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events.
In the study, about 2,100 individuals received CPAP therapy and nearly 2,100 did not. Both groups received education on dietary changes to help manage weight and cardiovascular risk factors as well as sleep hygiene counseling.
“This is a meta-analysis of three randomized trials to determine if CPAP use reduces the risk of… cerebrovascular or cardiac event or death stemming from myocardial infarction, stroke, or hospital admission due to heart failure/angina (cardiac chest pain)/transient ischemic attack (TIA),” explained Dr. Margarita Oks, a pulmonologist at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital in New York who was not involved in the study.
“The patient population this analysis focused on was those who have moderate to severe [obstructive sleep apnea] and established cardiovascular disease,” she told Medical News Today. “There wasno significant reduction in cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events in patients who used CPAP [in the initial three studies], but this may have been due to lower adherence of less than four hours per night. In an alternative analysis, those…
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