title: Association between blood pressure reduction with antihypertensive treatment and sleep apnea activity.
abstract: This study investigated whether a drug therapy-induced reduction in nocturnal blood pressure (BP) was associated with decreased sleep apnea activity. Two polysomnographies from 54 hospitalized male hypertensive, obstructive sleep apnea patients were analyzed in a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group trial of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor cilazapril (C), 2.5 mg once daily, or placebo (P). Blood pressure was measured by means of an intra-arterial catheter. Compared with P, C lowered mean arterial BP during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) (-8.3 +/- 10.7 mm Hg, P = .05) and REM sleep (-8.6 +/- 10.1 mm Hg, P = .02). Respiratory disturbance index (-8.6 +/- 3.2 events/h of sleep (n/h), P = .01) and apnea index (AI) (-6.6 +/- 3.0 n/h, P = .04) during NREM sleep were lowered by C and, to a lesser extent, by P (-5.9 +/- 3.2 n/h, P = .07 and -5.0 +/- 3.6 n/h, P = .18, respectively). The effect on AI and hypopnea index (HI) during REM sleep was not significant for C (-5.9 +/- 3.4 and 0.1 +/- 2.0, NS, respectively) and P (-2.6 +/- 3.9 and 1.6 +/- 2.0, NS, respectively). There was a significant linear correlation between the change in REM systolic BP and the change in REM AI (r = 0.28, P = .04); the mean BP change correlated negatively with the change in HI (-0.28, P = .04). During NREM sleep there was no significant correlation between changes in BP and the treatment effects on sleep apnea activity. Blood pressure reduction after short-term antihypertensive treatment did not affect sleep disordered breathing during NREM sleep. Reduced BP was associated with a weak reduction of AI and a slight increase of HI during REM sleep. It appears that elevated BP contributes only marginally to sleep apnea severity in hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Poliklinik, Klinikum der Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany. ludger.grote@pharm.gu.se
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grote
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wutkewicz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Knaack
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ploch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hedner
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Peter
mesh_terms: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D017315:Cilazapril / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D017315:Cilazapril