[Continuous noninvasive blood pressure measurement in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome without and with CPAP therapy]

The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is accompanied with episodic increases of systemic blood pressure (B.P.) and possibly with persistent hypertension. to find out the influence of nCPAP therapy on systemic blood pressure in sleep apnea patients, 10 patients (apnea index 9-51/h) were monitored by means of continuous noninvasive blood pressure measurement during polygraphy, circulation was examined before and 2-7 days after CPAP therapy. Every 30 minutes a 2-minute period of the systolic and diastolic B.P. was visually averaged and from these data the mean pressure of 7 hours nocturnal sleep was calculated. The mean systolic pressure before therapy was 139 +/- 32 mmHg and decreased to 122 +/- 14 mmHg under nCPAP (significant), the mean diastolic pressure before therapy was 74 +/- 17 mmHg and decreased to 64 +/- 8 mmHg under nCPAP. The maximal B.P. during the 7-hour measurement decreased from 155 +/- 27 mmHg to 137 +/- 20 mmHg under nCPAP.