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Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease

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Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death in North America. To improve outcomes, it will likely be necessary to identify new potentially treatable conditions. Sleep apnea affects approximately 50% of patients with cardiovascular disease and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Continuous positive airway pressure is currently the treatment of choice and has many short-term favorable effects. The long-term benefits, however, remain elusive. Further, it may not be the ideal treatment for central sleep apnea, and the benefits of alternatives such adaptive servo-ventilation are currently being tested. Randomized controlled trials are now needed to determine whether treating sleep apnea will improve survival and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Until better evidence becomes available, testing for sleep apnea cannot be recommended as part of the routine cardiovascular disease risk assessment, nor can its treatment be recommended for the prevention or management of cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic patients.

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Acknowledgment and Disclosure

The authors are recipients of an unrestricted research grant from Philips-Respironics Inc., Monroeville, PA, USA, to support the ADVENT-HF trial, which is a multicenter, randomized study to assess the effects of adaptive servo-ventilation on survival and frequency of cardiovascular hospital admissions in patients with heart failure and sleep apnea. The trial is funded jointly with a peer-reviewed grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

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  1. Mount Sinai Hospital, 435-600 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X5, Canada

    Alexander G. Logan & T. Douglas Bradley

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  1. Alexander G. Logan
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  2. T. Douglas Bradley
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Correspondence to Alexander G. Logan.

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Logan, A.G., Bradley, T.D. Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Hypertens Rep 12, 182–188 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-010-0107-5

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