blood pressure and cpap

lifeartist59 · Post by **lifeartist59** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:39 pm

I have noticed a trend since starting cpap 10 months ago. My blood pressure has risen. I found one article/ study that mentions fluid retention as a possible effect of cpap. Has anyone else had any experience with this. At first I thought it was because of the need to get used to the machine, stress of it etc. But this long into it, I wonder. I don't really want to have to bump up medicines for this, wonder what else can be done. I have also increase my workouts to 40-45 minutes 5 times a week. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:29 pm

lifeartist59 wrote:I found one article/ study that mentions fluid retention as a possible effect of cpap. Has anyone else had any experience with this.

Yes, I for one, would be interested in reading that article. Do you remember where you saw that? A link maybe?

lifeartist59 wrote:I have noticed a trend since starting cpap 10 months ago. My blood pressure has risen.

I would say that your pressure is not right. Do you have the software to monitor your therapy? If not how have you been feeling?
Whether its too high or too low I sure can't say but I think YOU are still going bump in the nite.

We'll see if others weigh in on this.

Good Luck,
GumbyCT

GreenIce · Post by **GreenIce** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:05 pm

[quote="lifeartist59"]I have noticed a trend since starting cpap 10 months ago. My blood pressure has risen. I found one article/ study that mentions fluid retention as a possible effect of cpap. Has anyone else had any experience with this. At first I thought it was because of the need to get used to the machine, stress of it etc. But this long into it, I wonder. I don't really want to have to bump up medicines for this, wonder what else can be done. I have also increase my workouts to 40-45 minutes 5 times a week. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:22 pm

If your treatment is well under control then it is time to look for other underlying causes. Are you one of those salt-sensitive people? How is your cholesterol and heart health?

I wish I could offer more help on this topic. I was lucky enough to see mine go down to normal after having borderline high bp for my entire adult life. But I'm only 35. It seems the longer the apnea has gone on, the more likely the damage is not reversible.

I would be surprised to hear cpap could cause edema problems. I would think the reverse would be true, but everyone's body reacts differently. If you are a mild case, maybe you could look into alternative therapy like a dental device and see if that improves things. I would exhaust every other possible cause of high bp first, though.

Jen

thimarine · Post by **thimarine** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:26 pm

I have been treated for hypertension for over 20 years, at one time taking two medications to get it to 140/90. Same period of time I had undiagnosed OSA (severe---68 AHI). Been on cpap for 10 mos and am off bp meds completely with a avg bp of 115/75, sometimes lower. I had been taking the highest dosage of cozaar prior to going off bp meds entirely. I did this under a doctor's supervision. He lowered the dosage each month and I was still getting hypotense. All the studies I've read online show a decrease in bp due to the nocturnal drop in bp during restorative sleep. There are not many studies and the control groups were not large. As you are aware, OSA research in this area is still new. However, all the studies showed a statistically significant drop in bp after successful cpap therapy. As with any type of therapy, there are paradoxical reactions (mania when treated with benzos, etc.) and you could be one of them. However, there are so many causes for uncontrolled bp, I would hazard to guess a cause. You don't say what your bp is. If it's within normal limits and all other systems check out, then maybe it's not a problem. If you're going into the high end of normal or above, it certainly bears checking out with a nephrologist, or a circulatory expert. When I was doing research on my high bp, I read about arterial stenosis in the kidneys. Something I'd never heard about, but it means to me that there are lots of things out there that could cause this. Of course, I'm a practicing hypochondriac which really doesn't qualify me to give anyone advice. (I have picked up enough information to be a threat on Jeopardy though). I wish you the best.

norm · Post by **norm** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:47 pm

I hope this doesn't double post--I started writing and the message disappeared before I finished. Maybe I inadvertently sent it before finishing it.

My blood pressure had been normal for most of my life, but about three years ago, before I started treatment for sleep apnea, it began climbing, eventually reaching about 140 or so over 90 or sometimes even a bit higher.

Two weeks after starting on CPAP, my blood pressure was way, way down, well within normal range.

I then changed my regular machine to an remstar apap. I went to the doctor a couple of days ago for a cold and my blood pressure was 165 over 78. The doctor said this might have been because I was sick, but I wonder whether it might relate to changing from a CPAP machine to APAP machine. My diagnosed pressure needs (not sure I have the vocabulary right--is it titrate?) was 12 on the CPAP; the remstar reports that my average pressure is about 16.5.

I don't have anything approaching the insight to explain why a switch to APAP could elevate blood pressure, and it may be that it has not, that it is because of a bad blood pressure reading or because of my cold. After my cold resolves, I will check my blood pressure again. If it is still high, I will go back to my regular CPAP machine and see what happens. And then report here.

--Norm

Captain_Midnight · Post by **Captain_Midnight** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:01 pm

Hello Lifeartist.

As I recall from reading the abstracts, most folks find that the BP declines some (especially systole), the difference between systolic and diastolic (pulse pressure), and the heart rate all decline; and , the greater reductions occur with the higher BPs.

This, of course, does not mean that you couldn't be experiencing precisely what you describe.

And, if it's not prying, what changes do you notice following initiation of CPAP therapy? Do you see changes in systolic (upper number), diastolic (lower number), resting heart rate, and the difference between the upper and lower BP number?

Has anything else changed? Weight, diet, routines, meds, sleeping positions, anything at all?

You might consider asking for another titration, maybe a home study over several nights with an autopap and a pulse oxymeter.

The solution might possibly be in optimizing the PAP therapy. If your unit has data reporting capability, you might also consider getting the card reader and software to learn your nightly therapy results.

Good on you for trying to get to the bottom of this!

Best of luck in finding out the cause of those BP elevations!

Regards all - - Tom

lifeartist59 · Post by **lifeartist59** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:39 pm

Hi everyone, thanks for replying so fast. I will try to find the article link on edema again and post it if I find it. I have been on bp medicines for a while already, and the pressure was under good control. My last cholesterol was 147, and I will get it tested again about two weeks from now. I did not have symptoms of apnea at all, just went to a new doctor and mentioned trying to lose weight. This started the ball rolling for the testing etc. It is my systolic rate that has increased (from a normal of 110-130 to now about 150-160 and the lowest reading lately is 130), my diastolic is still generally good, 80-85 range. I did find an article that also mentioned strenuous exercise elevating it, but that was temporarily and I doubt my routine is that strenuous. I have not been sleeping as much as before therapy, I have had some trouble getting used to it and finding a mask that works. I wonder if the lessing of the hours of sleep could do this? I seem to have found a mask that works, but it is already ( 3 month old) getting out of shape and not fitting as well. My ahi and hi counts are generally less than four per night, only times they bump up are when I can not fall asleep. I am a restless sleeper due to pain from degenerative disc disease.
Thanks again for any help, I just wanted to see if anyone has any ideas. I really don't want to increase my meds since I have been trying to lessen the need or get off them through weight loss and exercise.

Yoga · Post by **Yoga** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:06 pm

Are you by any chance taking pain medications with your blood pressure medicine such as naproxyn, etc? The only compatible NSAID with blood pressure medications is Sulindac.

lifeartist59 · Post by **lifeartist59** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:15 pm

Hi again,
No pain medicines with the exception of a rare tylenol or advil ( not even once a month). I do take several medicines, but all have been regular for several years ( newest being about a year old). Thanks for the help, guess I will see what my doctor says when I go in next month

michaelho · Post by **michaelho** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:59 am

I'm recently diagnosed OSA (3 months) and had High BP with 2 medications treating it 'fairly'. ie got it down to 150-160/80-90. Still high though. Started CPAP 3 months ago and now it's been consistently higher up to 200/100 and have now started 3rd medication to get it back down a bit.
I'm a pharmacist so understand medications and medicine so am perplexed by my increase in BP. Effective CPAP should lower your BP. I have unfortunately been borderline compliant on the machine , with only just into > 4 hours per night on CPAP.
I'm interested to see if others have had an increase in BP?
Michael

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:16 am

[quote="norm"]I hope this doesn't double post--I started writing and the message disappeared before I finished. Maybe I inadvertently sent it before finishing it.

My blood pressure had been normal for most of my life, but about three years ago, before I started treatment for sleep apnea, it began climbing, eventually reaching about 140 or so over 90 or sometimes even a bit higher.

Two weeks after starting on CPAP, my blood pressure was way, way down, well within normal range.

I then changed my regular machine to an remstar apap. I went to the doctor a couple of days ago for a cold and my blood pressure was 165 over 78. The doctor said this might have been because I was sick, but I wonder whether it might relate to changing from a CPAP machine to APAP machine. My diagnosed pressure needs (not sure I have the vocabulary right--is it titrate?) was 12 on the CPAP; the remstar reports that my average pressure is about 16.5.

I don't have anything approaching the insight to explain why a switch to APAP could elevate blood pressure, and it may be that it has not, that it is because of a bad blood pressure reading or because of my cold. After my cold resolves, I will check my blood pressure again. If it is still high, I will go back to my regular CPAP machine and see what happens. And then report here.

--Norm

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:32 am

[quote="michaelho"]I'm recently diagnosed OSA (3 months) and had High BP with 2 medications treating it 'fairly'. ie got it down to 150-160/80-90. Still high though. Started CPAP 3 months ago and now it's been consistently higher up to 200/100 and have now started 3rd medication to get it back down a bit.
I'm a pharmacist so understand medications and medicine so am perplexed by my increase in BP. Effective CPAP should lower your BP. I have unfortunately been borderline compliant on the machine , with only just into > 4 hours per night on CPAP.
I'm interested to see if others have had an increase in BP?
Michael

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:13 am

norm wrote:<snip>I went to the doctor a couple of days ago for a cold and my blood pressure was 165 over 78. The doctor said this might have been because I was sick...

Norm, lots of things can cause your BP to go up temporarily, especially the top number (systolic)--being sick, nervous, running later for your appointment, having eaten a meal shortly before you pressure is taken, etc. Your bottom number was great, btw. Wait and see what it is on the next several doctor visits. (Also, thyroid issues can cause the top number to be consistently higher, while the bottom number is okay.)

Pam

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:13 am

michaelho wrote:Effective CPAP should lower your BP.

I would say your therapy is NOT effective. Being compliant is NOT enough you need the correct pressure too.

Do you have the reader & software to monitor you therapy?

blood pressure and cpap

blood pressure and cpap

Re: blood pressure and cpap

Re: blood pressure and cpap

Lifeartist, a few questions

replies

blood pressure and cpap

reply

Mask

Mask

Mask