Risk for Death, Cardiovascular Death Lower for OSA Patients Using CPAP

MONDAY, Sept. 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) offers cardiovascular (CV) benefits, according to two studies presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2023, held from Sept. 9 to 13 in Milan.

Jordi de Batlle, Ph.D., from the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Lleida in Spain, and colleagues examined the impact of CPAP treatment on major CV events in a longitudinal observational study composed of all OSA patients terminating CPAP treatment in 2011 and propensity score-matched OSA patients continuing CPAP treatment (3,638 in each group). The researchers found that after adjustment by age, sex, and key comorbidities, CPAP continuators had a lower risk for CV death than terminators during a median follow-up of 4.5 years (hazard ratio, 0.66). Similar results were seen for CV hospitalizations and for a composite of CV deaths and hospitalizations (hazard ratios, 0.82 and 0.80, respectively).