MONDAY, Sept. 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) offers cardiovascular (CV) benefits, according to two studies presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2023, held from Sept. 9 to 13 in Milan.
Jordi de Batlle, Ph.D., from the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Lleida in Spain, and colleagues examined the impact of CPAP treatment on major CV events in a longitudinal observational study composed of all OSA patients terminating CPAP treatment in 2011 and propensity score-matched OSA patients continuing CPAP treatment (3,638 in each group). The researchers found that after adjustment by age, sex, and key comorbidities, CPAP continuators had a lower risk for CV death than terminators during a median follow-up of 4.5 years (hazard ratio, 0.66). Similar results were seen for CV hospitalizations and for a composite of CV deaths and hospitalizations (hazard ratios, 0.82 and 0.80, respectively).
Cliona O’Donnell, M.B.B.S., from St. Vincent’s University Hospital and University College Dublin, and colleagues examined the potential effect of CPAP versus glucagon-like peptide-1 (liraglutide)-mediated weight loss (LWR) on coronary artery plaque volumes in a proof-of-concept study. Thirty patients with moderate-to-severe OSA were randomly assigned to 24 weeks of CPAP, LWR, or a combination. The researchers observed a reduction in low-density coronary artery plaque volume with CPAP and with combination therapy, but not with LWR alone. There was a correlation seen for change in total plaque volume with change in time spent below 90 percent oxygen saturation.
“Although this is a pilot study, meaning we cannot draw firm conclusions, we found improvements in some early signs of cardiovascular disease with CPAP treatment,” O’Donnell said in a statement. “This should now be further evaluated in larger studies.”
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