CPAP therapy reduces risk of heart failure for all, study finds
By HME News Staff
Updated Tue July 17, 2018
YARMOUTH, Maine - Sleep apnea not treated with CPAP therapy was associated with an increased risk of heart failure in patients of all ages, according to a nationwide cohort study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Using nationwide databases, the study followed the entire Danish population from 2000 until 2012. Patients with sleep apnea receiving and not receiving CPAP therapy were identified and compared with the background population. The primary end point was first-time hospital contact for heart failure and adjusted incidence rate ratios of heart failure were calculated using Poisson regression models. Among 4.9 million individuals included, 40,485 developed sleep apnea during the study period (median age: 53.4 years, 78.5% men), of whom 45.2% received CPAP therapy. Crude rates of heart failure were increased in all patients with sleep apnea, relative to the background population. In the adjusted model, the incidence rate ratios of heart failure were increased in the untreated sleep apnea patients of all ages, compared with the background population. Comparing the CPAP-treated patients with sleep apnea with the untreated patients with sleep apnea showed significantly lower incidence rate ratios of heart failure among older patients.
Comments