Study finds statins, but not CPAP therapy, can reduce heart disease
By HME News Staff
Updated 2:50 PM CDT, Wed March 22, 2023
NEW YORK – A new study from Columbia University researchers suggests that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins can potentially reduce heart disease in people with obstructive sleep apnea. But, while CPAP therapy improves sleep quality and reduces daytime fatigue in people with OSA, findings from several recent clinical trials show it does not improve heart health as physicians originally hoped, according to a press release by Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Alternative methods to reduce heart disease in sleep apnea patients are urgently needed because the condition is known to triple the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or another serious cardiovascular event,” according to researchers. The study, led by Sanja Jelic, MD, associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, included 87 people with recently diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea who were being treated with CPAP. The patients were randomized to receive treatment with either statins or a placebo. The study was published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
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