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DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1801855
Is CPAP the Key to Reduce the Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with OSA?
Funding The authors declare that they did not receive funding from agencies in the public, private or non-profit sectors to conduct the present study.
Abstract
Introduction Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent condition often managed with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. There is an ongoing debate about the link between OSA and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the existing evidence points toward an association.
Objective The present study aims to investigate whether CPAP is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of developing CVD risk among OSA patients.
Methods The literature search was conducted in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College librarians, and we identified the five most recent papers highlighting the correlation between CPAP treatment for OSA and CVD risk reduction.
Results Recent studies highlight the link between OSA and CVD, emphasizing the potential of the CPAP therapy to reduce the risks of developing CVD and the mortality associated with the condition. The analyses by Guo et al., Peker et al., Khan et al., and Wickwire et al., collectively involving thousands of patients across various study designs, including randomized clinical trials and retrospective cohort studies, consistently demonstrate that the CPAP treatment improves cardiovascular outcomes by lowering blood pressure, reducing sleepiness scores, and significantly decreasing the risk of serious CVD events, especially with consistent adherence to therapy.
Conclusion Although further studies are needed to confirm these findings among patients with consistent high compliance to the CPAP treatment, it remains reasonable to continue to prescribe CPAP as the first-line therapy for OSA due to its potential cardiovascular benefits and low associated risks.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
The authors declare that they have complied with ethical standards, and that they did not engage in research involving human participants or animals.
Publication History
Received: 05 April 2024
Accepted: 23 October 2024
Article published online:
07 August 2025
© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Kiran Abraham-Aggarwal, Ashutosh Kacker. Is CPAP the Key to Reduce the Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with OSA?. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2025; 29: s00451801855.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1801855
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References
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