Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Central Sleep Apnea and Heart Failure

The Canadian Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Patients with Central Sleep Apnea and Heart Failure trial tested the hypothesis that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) would improve the survival rate without heart transplantation of patients who have central sleep apnea and heart failure.

After medical therapy was optimized, 258 patients who had heart failure (mean age [+/-SD], 63+/-10 years; ejection fraction, 24.5+/-7.7 percent) and central sleep apnea (number of episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour of sleep, 40+/-16) were randomly assigned to receive CPAP (128 patients) or no CPAP (130 patients) and were followed for a mean of two years. During follow-up, sleep studies were conducted and measurements of the ejection fraction, exercise capacity, quality of life, and neurohormones were obtained.