Differential blood pressure response to continuous positive airway pressure treatment according to the circadian pattern in hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnoea

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has a heterogeneous effect on blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients. However, the effect of CPAP on BP in hypertensive subjects regarding circadian BP pattern has never been explored. This study aimed to assess the effect of CPAP on BP, taking into consideration the circadian BP pattern in untreated hypertensive patients. This study is apost hocanalysis of the Spanish Cohort for the Study of the Effect of CPAP in Hypertension (CEPECTA), a multicentre, randomised trial of CPAPversussham-CPAP in patients with new-onset systemic hypertension and an apnoea–hypopnoea index >15 events·h−1. We included patients for whom 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) data were available at baseline and 12 weeks after the intervention. Subjects were classified based on the dipping ratio (dipper/non-dipper). We evaluated the effect of CPAP on ABPM parameters after 12 weeks of treatment. Overall, 272 hypertensive subjects were included in the analysis (113 dippers and 159 non-dippers). Baseline clinical and polysomnographic variables were similar between the groups. CPAP treatment in non-dipper patients was associated with reductions in 24-h ambulatory BP variables and night-time ambulatory BP measurements. However, a nonsignificant effect was reported in the dipper group. The differential effects of CPAP between the groups were −2.99 mmHg (95% CI −5.92­– −0.06 mmHg) for the mean 24-h ambulatory BP and −5.35 mmHg (95% CI −9.01– −1.69 mmHg) for the mean night-time ambulatory BP. Our results show a differential effect of CPAP treatment on BP in hypertensive patients depending on the circadian pattern. Only non-dipper patients benefited from CPAP treatment in terms of BP reduction.