Continuous positive airway pressure ameliorated severe pulmonary hypertension associated with obstructive sleep apnea.
A 52-year-old obese woman was admitted to our institution for evaluation of dyspnea and pulmonary hypertension (PH). Polysomnography revealed severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with an apnea hypopnea index of 99.8. Treatment with nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) resulted in correction of daytime hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and near-normalization of pulmonary artery pressure. To our knowledge, this is the most severe case of OSA-associated PH (approximately70 mmHg) reported to date, and it was successfully treated with nocturnal CPAP. This case demonstrates that OSA should be considered and polysomnography performed in all patients with PH, irrespective of severity, and that nocturnal CPAP has therapeutic effects on both OSA and daytime PH.
Ogawa
Aiko
A
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. aiko-oky@umin.ac.jp
Emori
Tetsuro
T
Sumita
Wakako
W
Watanabe
Atsuyuki
A
Fujio
Hideki
H
Miyaji
Katsumasa
K
Ohe
Tohru
T
D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure / Q000379:methods*; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006935:Hypercapnia / Q000628:therapy; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications*