Findings from a recent study show that patients with untreated, moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea had a higher risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event, but the risk of incident heart problems was decreased in those who used CPAP therapy.
Results show that people with moderate to severe sleep apnea and no record of CPAP use were 71% more likely than those without sleep apnea to experience incident myocardial infarction, stroke, unstable angina, heart failure or cardiovascular death. Compared with the risk of heart problems in people with untreated sleep apnea, the risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event was 32% lower in patients with any severity of sleep apnea who used CPAP therapy, and it was 44% lower in those with moderate to severe sleep apnea who used CPAP.
“Our study contributes to understanding the role of CPAP therapy for cardiovascular risk prevention,” said lead author Diego R. Mazzotti, who has a doctorate in psychobiology and is an assistant professor in the division of medical informatics in the department of internal medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. “We found the effects of CPAP were stronger in patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea, as well as in patients who used CPAP, on average, greater than 4 hours per night.”
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Sleep. Study Paper:
