Effects of CPAP on cardiorespiratory outcomes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and heart failure: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a public health problem with a great economic impact. It is estimated that the prevalence of patients with OSA ranges from 4% to 6% of men and 2% to 4% of women in the general population. Strong evidence suggests that both sleep disorders and heart failure (HF) are related. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold standard non-pharmacological treatment for this population. However, there is still a gap in the literature and its effects in patients with OSA and HF are not entirely clear. This study aimed to evaluate, by randomized clinical trials, the effects of positive pressure on cardiorespiratory function in patients with OSA and HF. Randomized clinical trials were included, with publication in the MEDLINE, PEDro, Cochrane Library, SciELO and PubMed databases and the risk bias was assessed using the PEDro scale. Six articles were included in this study, involving 165 participants. Our findings demonstrate that CPAP in the treatment of OSA in patients with HF promotes an increase in left ventricular ejection fraction, oxygen saturation and a reduction in blood pressure, apnea/hypopnea indices and awakenings from sleep during the night. We conclude that treatment with CPAP promotes an improvement in cardiorespiratory outcomes in patients with OSA and HF, improving the prognosis and reducing the risk of sudden death. However, their data must be cautiously interpreted considering the bias of the studies and their limitations. RESUMEN La apnea obstructiva del sueño (APS) es un problema de salud pública con gran impacto económico. Se estima que la prevalencia de portadores de AOS es del 4% al 6% en los hombres y del 2% al 4% en las mujeres en la población general. Existe una fuerte evidencia de que tanto los trastornos del sueño como la insuficiencia cardíaca (IC) tienen una asociación entre sí. La presión positiva continua en las vías respiratorias (CPAP) es el tratamiento no farmacológico estándar de oro para esta población. Sin embargo, aún existe un vacío en la literatura y sus efectos en pacientes con AOS e IC no están del todo claros. Ante esto, el objetivo de este estudio es evaluar, mediante ensayos clínicos aleatorizados, los efectos de la CPAP sobre la función cardiorrespiratoria en pacientes con AOS e IC. Se incluyeron seis ensayos clínicos aleatorizados, con publicación en las bases de datos MEDLINE, PEDro, Cochrane Library, SciELO y PubMed, con un total de 165 participantes. El riesgo de ses