Connecting Sleep Apnoea and High Blood Pressure

[Mr P]

I am three weeks into my CPAP therapy and the results are astonishing. I find the UK doesnt really get Sleep Apnoea and especially its impact on our blood pressure. So I wrote a blog to try and share my story.

My Statistics a Week before the CPAP Treatment
Average Blood Pressure 144/94
Medication 10mg Ramipril 10mg Amlodipine 1 mg Doxazosin
Airway Obstructions 44 per hour, Oxygen Saturation 55% and longest Obstruction 87 seconds

My Statistics after Two Weeks of CPAP Treatment
Average Blood Pressure 124/83
Medication 10mg Ramipril, 5mg Amlodipine
Average of 8 hours sleep and 3.9 events per hour

read my story of 20 years being treated for hypertension when actually the issue was sleep apnoea

https://mrpworld.co.uk/sleep-apnea-blog/

[RXEditorialTeam]

Thank you for sharing the numbers, that is a remarkable change and a good example for other members with "difficult" blood pressure. Some context from the research side (I'm on a medical editorial team that writes about sleep disorders, general information only):

• Your experience fits a known pattern. Obstructive sleep apnoea is one of the most common causes of resistant hypertension, i.e. blood pressure that stays high despite three or more medicines. Studies find OSA in a large majority of people in that group.
• The average effect of CPAP is smaller (often only 2-5 mmHg in trials), but people with resistant hypertension, severe OSA and good nightly use - like your 8 hours - tend to see much bigger drops, sometimes similar to adding another tablet.
• Night-time pressure often improves most. If your GP ever offers 24-hour ambulatory monitoring, it can show whether the "non-dipping" at night has gone, which is a useful marker of cardiovascular risk.
• Medication changes should stay with the GP, as you have done. As pressures fall, some people get light-headed on standing, so home readings in the morning and evening are worth bringing to each review.

It would be great if more GPs screened for sleep apnoea when blood pressure does not respond to treatment. Posts like yours help with that.