Ambulatory Blood Pressure On and Off Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy for the Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome: Effects in “Non-Dippers”
Open Access
- 1 July 1996
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Sleep
- Vol. 19 (5) , 378-381
- https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/19.5.378
Abstract
Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring was performed in 13 patients with the sleep apnea/ hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) during a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial of the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. BP was monitored at half-hourly intervals for a 24-hour period both on CPAP and on an oral placebo, each given for a minimum of 3 weeks. Objective effective CPAP use averaged 4.3 hours per night. Weight and anti-hypertensive medications remained stable over the study period. Systolic, diastolic and mean arterial BP for 24-hour, daytime and nighttime periods were not significantly different on placebo compared to CPAP. Those patients with no significant overnight fall in BP on placebo (“non-dippers”) showed a significant improvement in daytime mean arterial BP on CPAP (98 ± 4 mm Hg) compared to placebo (102 ± 4 mm Hg; p = 0.01). These findings, in a well-controlled trial, suggest that BP is not reduced by CPAP in a heterogeneous group of SAHS patients, but it may be selectively improved in those patients most at risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Keywords
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