Treating sleep apnoea could reduce high blood pressure

Recent research suggests that treating sleep apnoea, using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), could reduce high blood pressure (hypertension). CPAP is the main treatment used to help patients manage the condition.

Sleep apnoea is common among people suffering from high blood pressure and according to international guidelines can be a major risk factor for people with poorly controlled high blood pressure.

A Spanish study suggests that the number of hours spent using CPAP treatment can have a direct and positive influence on a person’s blood pressure. The study was presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) congress in Munich last week (7 September 2014).

According to Dr Miguel-Angel Martinez-Garcia, the lead author of the study from the University Hospital La Fe, Valencia, even a slight reduction in blood pressure can have a considerable effect in reducing death rates as a result of heart problems in people with high blood pressure.

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