Treatment of Sleep Apnea With CPAP Lowers Central and Peripheral Blood Pressure Independent of the Time-of-Day: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a risk factor for hypertension and randomized controlled trials have shown that OSA treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces peripheral blood pressure and arterial stiffness. Arterial stiffness is known to augment central aortic blood pressure independent of peripheral brachial blood pressure. Currently, it is unclear whether the reduction in blood pressure with CPAP is similar between central and peripheral sites. It is also unknown whether there are any time-of-day influences on central blood pressure changes after CPAP.