Objective: To investigate the effect of short-term continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on the arterial stiffness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).
Methods: Cardio ankle vascular index (CAVI) and blood pressure (BP) were measured before and after sleep in 60 non-hypertensive patients with OSAHS and gender and 60 age-matched healthy controls. CPAP was administrated in 22 of the 60 OSAHS patients. And on the first and third days of the CPAP treatment CAVI and BP were measured in the morning, i. e., after sleep.
Results: In the morning, the CAVI of the OSAHS patients was 8.0 +/- 1.2 m/s, significantly higher than that before sleep (7.3 +/- 1.0, P = 0.000), the diastolic BP (DBP) was (86 +/- 12) mm Hg, significantly higher than that before sleep (83 +/- 13 mmHg, P = 0.001), and the mean BP (MBP) was (101 +/- 12) mm Hg, significantly higher than that before sleep (98 +/- 14, P = 0.00116). However, there were no significant differences in these parameters among the controls The systolic BP (SBP) of the OSAHS patients did not changed significantly after sleep, however, there was a tendency to decrease in the controls [(123 +/- 14) vs (121 +/- 13) mm Hg, P = 0.074). After the first night treatment, the CAVI, SBP, DBP, and mean BP of the 22 severe OSAHS patients decreased significantly (all P < 0.05), and after three nights treatment, only the CAVI showed further significant decrease (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Sleep induces increase of artery stiffness in OSAHS patients, but not in the normal controls. Short-term CPAP may decrease CAVI without affecting the blood pressures. Early atherosclerosis in the patients with OSAHS may be reversed by CPAP therapy.