What impact does CPAP have on patients with obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease?
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnea may be reasonable to improve sleep quality and daytime functioning in patients with cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnea. A randomized controlled trial involving >2700 patients found that while improvements in sleep quality were noteworthy, there was no evidence of benefit on cardiovascular events at a mean follow-up of 3.7 years for CPAP plus usual care compared with usual care alone. However, in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the use of CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea was helpful.