Improved Sleep Quality Improves Blood Pressure Control among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Pilot Study

Despite the abundance of data documenting the consequences of poor sleep quality on blood pressure (BP), no previous study to our knowledge has addressed the impact of sleep improvement on resistant hypertension among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether improved sleep quality and duration will improve BP control in patients with resistant hypertension and CKD. It was a prospective single-center cohort study that involved 30 hypertensive subjects with CKD presenting with primary resistant hypertension and poor sleep quality or duration <6 h/night. Sleep quality and duration were modified using either sleep hygiene education alone or adding sleep medication. The cohort's BP was followed every 3 months for 6-month duration. The average home and clinic BPs were collected at each follow-up visit. The primary outcome baseline change in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP; home and clinic) at 3 and 6 months after documented sleep improvement. Secondary outcomes included change from baseline in mean arterial pressure, and delta SBP after sleep improvement.

African American patients represented 50% of the cohort. All patients had evidence of CKD with GFR ≤60 mL/min and were obese with 40% having type 2 diabetes mellitus. The primary endpoint of change in clinic SBP and DBP was significantly reduced at 3 months, baseline 156 ± 15/88 ± 8 vs. 3 months 125 ± 14/73 ± 7 (p < 0.0001). This difference persisted at 6 months. However, there was no further reduction in-home or clinic BPs between the 3- and 6-month periods. Home and clinic average delta SBP change at 3 months from baseline was -34.4 ± 15 and -30.8 ± 19 mm Hg respectively. Delta SBP change was associated with sleep improvement of >6 h/night, that is, gaining an extra 3-4 h' sleep duration, home; R2 = 0.66, p < 0.0001 and clinic; R2 = 0.49, p < 0.0001.

Optimizing sleep quality and duration to >6 h/night improved BP control and was associated with a significant delta change in SBP within 3 months of follow-up. Physicians should obtain a sleep history in patients with CKD who present with resistant hypertension.