A study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine tested the effects of CPAP therapy on heart disease. 

Positive Airway Pressure devices, called PAP, deliver pressurized ambient air through a delivery system (tubing and mask), to eliminate apnea events during sleep. PAP, including CPAP, BIPAP, Auto-PAP, and ASV-PAP, is the most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and can potentially improve the patient’s sleep overnight, dramatically improving the quality of life for individuals afflicted with sleep apnea (learn more about PAP here).

The Sleep Apnea Cardiovascular Endpoints (SAVE) trial looked at patients with a history of coronary artery disease or cerebrovascular disease AND moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Participants were randomly assigned to received CPAP plus usual care or usual care alone.

The results of the study showed that use of CPAP did not result in a lower rate of cardiovascular issues (for this study, they looked for deaths from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or transient ischemic attack). 

Does this mean that CPAP is not an effective treatment?

Sleep apnea can be frightening for the people who experience it as well as their partners, who watch as their slumbering companions suddenly stop breathing, choke and wake, sometimes dozens of times an hour. The worry is well-founded, because sleep apnea is more than a disturbance at night. Studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and even death due to cardiac arrest.