title: Impact of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in High-Risk Patients.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Obstructive sleep apnea is a highly prevalent condition characterized by repetitive upper airway collapse during sleep. A large body of evidence suggests that obstructive sleep apnea is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the current gold standard for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. CPAP devices maintain upper airway patency using a pneumatic splint, thereby ameliorating the repetitive deoxygenation and reoxygenation characteristic of sleep in obstructive sleep apnea patients. Accumulating evidence suggests that CPAP treatment may lead to a reduction in blood pressure. Limited evidence also suggests that CPAP therapy may modulate glucose metabolism, serum cholesterol levels, and inflammatory biomarkers. Thus, CPAP treatment may be associated with cardiovascular risk factor modification in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, who are often obese and at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This review updates the knowledge on the effects of CPAP on cardiovascular risk factors from recently published randomized trials.
authors.affiliation: Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, BLI 225, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. yingzhao@mail.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ying Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, BLI 225, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.|Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Redline
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Body mass index; Body weight; C-reactive protein; Cardiovascular disease; Continuous positive airway pressure; Diabetes; Dyslipidemia; Glucose metabolism; Hypertension; Insulin resistance; Insulin sensitivity; Obstructive sleep apnea; Serum cholesterol