MONDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Short-term continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) does not significantly alleviate high blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, according to a report in the June issue of Chest.
Francisco Campos-Rodriguez, M.D., of Valme University Hospital in Sevilla, Spain, and colleagues randomly treated 68 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome who were also on antihypertensive drugs for high blood pressure with therapeutic or sub-therapeutic CPAP for a month.
The researchers found a small but statistically insignificant drop in 24-hour blood pressure in both groups after a month, but no major daytime or nighttime blood pressure or other differences between the two.
"Four weeks of CPAP did not reduce blood pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and hypertension who were treated with antihypertensive medication, compared to placebo group," the authors conclude.
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