Impact of Sleep Apnea Therapy on Hypertensive Patients

Highlights:

Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder with symptoms of snoring and paused breathing during sleep.
30 - 40% of hypertensive patients were found to suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Positive Air Pressure therapy for Sleep Apnea is found to benefit hypertensive patients.

A research study from Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine found positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy for sleep apnea to have a positive impact on sleep disturbances in hypertensive patients.//

Day time sleepiness, depressive symptoms and fatigue severity were found to improve with the therapy. Significant results were noted even in patients with resistant hypertension.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Overview
Obstructive sleep apnea should be suspected in overweight middle aged adults who snore loudly and which can cause interruption of breathing for 10 seconds or more and this results in reduced blood o

‘Sleep Apnea therapy found to benefit hypertensive patients.’

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The study findings were published in the October issue of of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Sleep apnea is a condition which result in shallow or paused breathing during sleep. This may last from few seconds to several minutes during the night. Lifestyle changes, breathing devices or surgery may help in the treatment.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also stated that 30 to 40% of hypertensive patients suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Harneet Walia, MD, assistant professor of family medicine in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University said, "We found that consistently and notably there was no difference in patient-reported outcomes between resistant hypertension and non-resistant hypertension groups."

"What we found was that the improvement in the patient-reported outcomes was more pronounced in those with objective adherence to PAP therapy."

Pharmacological Options for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is defined as a sleep disorder involving decrease in airflow in the presence of breathing effort. The treatment for OSA includes pharmacologic and non- pharmacologic modalities.

Sleep apnea treatment is a proven method to decrease blood pressure and improve overall health.

The study was conducted on 900 patients with hypertension and sleep apnea. Out of which 15% of patients had resistant hypertension. The patients were at an average age of 58 years and were been treated with PAP therapy through the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. The results were evaluated using a questionnaire based patient report using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (depression), Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Fatigue Severity Scale.

Quiz on Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Do you feel sleepy all day despite sleeping normal hours? One of the possible reasons for this sleepiness could be obstructive sleep apnea. Test your knowledge on obstructive sleep apnea by taking this quiz.

The authors also conclude that there has been no previous study which reported changes with sleep related outcomes being associated with PAP therapy in hypertensive patients.

Source-Medindia