Researchers in Spain found that people with sleep apnea and resistant hypertension had improvements in the blood pressure after treating their sleep disorder.
The researchers noted that resistant hypertension (a type that does not respond to typical treatments) was common in patients with sleep apnea. Past research using CPAP therapy to treat the sleep apnea has shown mixed results regarding blood pressure improvement. This study also used CPAP to treat patients obstructive sleep apnea for a period of 12 weeks. “Some authors have reported that the effect of CPAP treatment on blood-pressure levels depends on the number of hours of CPAP use,” said Dr. Miguel-Angel Martinez-Garcia. “Our study corroborates this finding with significant correlation between the hours of CPAP use (especally in patients with at least four hours of use per night) and the decrease in blood-pressure levels.”
In plain English, you need to sleep all night with your CPAP in order for it to be truly effective. The problem is, most people can’t tolerate 8 hours of CPAP. Doctors actually consider patients “compliant” with their CPAP if they only use it 4 hours each night. That leaves several hours of untreated sleep apnea!
It would be nice if these studies included patients who were using oral appliances to treat their sleep apnea. It has been proven that oral appliances are effective and that patient compliance is high. Most patients find sleeping with an oral appliance comfortable and easy.
If you hate your CPAP there is another treatment option. Find out if you are a candidate for oral appliance therapy by contacting Columbus sleep apnea dentist Dr. Mark Levy today at 614-915-0134.
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