Sleep therapy may protect against death from heart problems

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

According to a trial, therapy for sleep apnea may protect the sufferer from heart-related death.
In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a person stops breathing many times in the night because of an obstruction to their upper airway. OSA has been linked to an increased incidence of death from heart disease. So it is of interest to see whether treatment for OSA can help protect from heart death.

Researchers at St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, followed 168 patients with OSA for an average of 7.5 years to assess the value of treatment known as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This involves wearing a device at night that keeps the airways open. In this group 107 patients used CPAP.

During the follow-up, 14.8 per cent in the untreated group died of heart problems, compared with just 1.9 per cent in the CPAP group. Moreover, the total number of cardiovascular events - stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure - was higher among the untreated group - 31 per cent versus 18 per cent. Clearly, treatment for OSA is valuable and should be encouraged wherever possible.

Source
Chest 13th June 2005

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