Would like to hear how xPAP use has affected your blood pressure

[green wings]

I'm curious about how many people with hypertension have seen an effect on their blood pressure from xPAP therapy.

I was referred for a sleep study because I had developed treatment-resistant hypertension. I was very hopeful that CPAP therapy would help my blood pressure.

I've just finished a month of CPAP usage and my blood pressure readings are very confusing. After only a couple of days of CPAP use, my blood pressure dropped to around 130/80 and I was thrilled.

It has since gone back up then dropped again then increased again. It was 170/100 this morning.

I haven't had any way to use the Sleepyhead software, but after this morning's BP reading, I am going to borrow a friend's computer so I can take a look at my sleep data.

[PaytonA]

I have been on CPAP for about 4 years now and BP medication a lot longer than that. My CPAP use for the first 2 years was probably not all that effective due to mouth leaks that I did not realize were occurring. When I got on this board and found there was data available and obtained the things that I needed to download it from my Resmed S8 VPAP Auto. I found that I could not fix the problem with the nasal mask that I had and went to a full face mask. I was then able to get my leaks under control.

Anyway after 2 years of effective VPAPing, my doc reduced my BP meds a little and my BP is still quite low-100/70. VPAP has not reduced any of my other health issues though but I am a happy PAPer and am not sure if I could even get to sleep without being masked and tethered.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[HermannTheGerman]

Never had BP Problems until the age of 40.
Then suddenly the BP went sky high.
Doctor gave me some pills to get it back down again and started to do some checks with me.
At the same time I startet to sweat during the night and they monitored my heart for 24 hours.
Sleep study followed and soon I was on an ASV, because I have mixed apnoes.

The BP went back down to normal within 2 weeks under ASV treatment.

That happened 10 years ago.
Since then my BP has always been ok again.

After 4 weeks in intensive care at a hospital 2 years ago I startet sweating again and my BP was high again.
To make a long story short, found out that I became a mouthleaker and the ASV wasn´t able to threat me the way it should.

I use a hybrid mask now and BP is back to normal again.

Hermann

[green wings]

Thanks, Payton and Herman. I am still hopeful that treating my sleep apnea will make my blood pressure respond to medication again. This has been going on for over a year now and it makes me nervous for my blood pressure to be so high all the time.

[HermannTheGerman]

This has been going on for over a year now and it makes me nervous for my blood pressure to be so high all the time.

My BP was high for a view weeks only until I went on CPAP treatment and I had no problems at all to sleep with the mask.

Your BP is hight for over a year. I believe it will take some time to get back to normal again sice your on CPAP for one month only.

How long are you sleeping each night and how is your AHI?

Hermann

[eseedhouse]

OK, so the main thing is that PAP pressure is unlikely to raise your BP and quite likely to lower it. How well it does that depends on many things. If you have had HBP for a long time and your arteries have become inflexible then it probably isn't going to help all that much. Mine declined from around 140/80 on medication to 120/70 at my last measurement, but not enough samples to prove a trend. I had HBP for more than 40 years before starting PAP treatment. Miracles aren't very likely.

There are many causes for HBP and PAP pretty much treats one of them.

[green wings]

I am sleeping 7-8 hours each night and have been using the CPAP all night for the last month except for two nights.

My AHI is usually around 4-5.

I am going back to see my sleep doctor this week so he can look at my sleep data to see if pressure adjustments are needed.

I started taking medication for hypertension in 2008. My BP was controlled to 120/80 or better with one medication until about 18 months ago when it increased to around 150-160/90-120.

My doctor changed me to a beta-blocker plus an ARB, increased the dose of the ARB two times, then added a diuretic. None of this really seemed to make much difference.

I was diagnosed with OSA Dec. 2015. Looking back, it seems likely that I started developing it in 2013 if not before.

Based on what you, Hermann and Ed are saying, it sounds like there is hope that my blood pressure control may improve if my blood vessels aren't too damaged.

I also have gained 25 pounds in the last three years and need to lose about 40. Since joining this board, I've been doing some reading about excess weight and feel more determined to lose some. It's much more toxic than I had realized.

I've had autoimmune health issues for years, but I am still fairly new to all these traditionally middle-age onset problems. I need to get over my feelings of "MORE diagnoses? Not fair!" and start dealing with this stuff.

At least the CPAP usage is going fine since I found this board. I am sleeping better than I have for years.

Brain aneurysms run on my dad's side of the family, so if I sound a little panicky, that's why. I have no reason to suspect I might have one, but if you've seen that happen to three family members, it's scary.

Thanks.

This has been going on for over a year now and it makes me nervous for my blood pressure to be so high all the time.

My BP was high for a view weeks only until I went on CPAP treatment and I had no problems at all to sleep with the mask.

Your BP is hight for over a year. I believe it will take some time to get back to normal again sice your on CPAP for one month only.

How long are you sleeping each night and how is your AHI?

Hermann

[Dawei]

Interesting question, greenwings. I hadn't thought about it until reading the thread you started. I've been on Losartan for a few years now, and it has kept my bp looking quite good (went to meds after diet and exercise alone couldn't get bp down). I had been taking 100mg/day. Awhile ago, my doc and I decided to try cutting my dosage, just to see where my bp would go. At 50mg, it didn't increase at all! Until now, I hadn't thought about the possibility that my APAP might have something to do with it.

David

[DariaVader]

my blood pressure is high, has been high while medicated for at least a decade; recently my primary doc started talking about adding a 4th med, but i had my cardiologist switch my metoprolol for carvedilol instead and its currently looking very fine. It will be hard now to say if cpap has had any hand in helping, but my best guess is that the root issue has multiple causes and is not completely alleviated by cpap. I seem to still be in flight mode even after 1.5 yr of papping, and believe that my blood sugar levels are suffering from that as well. There are several intertwined relationships between the different glands in the endocrine system. BP and BS go high in response to higher levels of cortizol; treating apnea may or may not bring the cortizol down, depends on what else is stressing your body. Chronic pain is a huge stressor for me and mine skyrockets if I get a migraine.

I have added going to the gym to the things I am doing to combat this cycle, but at this point, although my backpack feels lighter, I am not, and my blood sugar responds to working out by going higher the next morning (stress) so cutting my routine in about half to see if it's better. If something works, it will be a combination of efforts, just as it was a combination of issues that contributed to the current state of things.