Sleep Apnea & Hypertension

In 2005, the estimated prevalence of hypertension in US adults was 74 million; associated costs for 2009 were estimated to be $73 billion.1 Sleep apnea is strongly associated, in a dose-dependent manner, with hypertension, independent of other risk factors.

  • Sleep apnea is first on the list of identifiable causes of hypertension defined by the National Institute of Health’s seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.
  • 45% of people with sleep apnea who do not have high blood pressure will develop hypertension within 4 years if their sleep apnea remains untreated.2
  • An independent, dose-response association was observed between sleep apnea at baseline and hypertension at year 4 in a community-based sample of 709 patients.3
  • 80% of patients with drug-resistant hypertension have sleep apnea.4

Effects of Treatment

Treatment of sleep apnea has been shown to reduce blood pressure.

  • Effective treatment of sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) leads to a significant reduction in diurnal and nocturnal blood pressure. Mean reduction was 10 mm Hg.5
  • In patients with refractory hypertension and sleep apnea, a single night of CPAP therapy resulted in reduced systolic blood pressure. After 2 months of CPAP use, significant reductions were observed in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.6
  • In patients using CPAP therapy, each 10-point drop in baseline AHI correlated with a 0.89 mm Hg drop in blood pressure.7
  • Adherence to CPAP therapy in hypertensive patients was shown to reduce blood pressure by 1.39 mm Hg for each hour of use.8

snore-lp-btn-placeholder.png

 

 

1 American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2009 Update
2 Arzt M, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005;172:1447-51
3 Peppard PE et al. New Engl J Med, 2000; 342: 1378-84
4 Logan AG, et al. J Hypertens 2001;19 :2271-7
5 Becker HF et al. Circulation 2003;107:68-73
6 Logan AG et al. Eur Resp J 2003;21:241-47
7 Bazzano LA et al. Hypertension 2007;50:417-23 
8 Haentjens P et al. Arch Intern Med 2007;167:757-64