Research

Mixed

Untreated severe OSAS significantly increases long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, whereas compliant CPAP treatment normalizes mortality rates to those of the general population.

If you have severe sleep apnoea, using your CPAP machine consistently every night is the most effective way to protect your heart and prevent early death. The severity of your apnoea matters less than your consistency in using the treatment.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
CPAP-treated patients who were compliant with treatment had mortality rates similar to those recorded in the general population, whereas excess cardiovascular fatal events occurred in patients aged <50 yrs who refused CPAP treatment.
Walter T. McNicholas et al. · European Respiratory Journal · 2006

Why this rating

Based on longitudinal studies (Marin et al., Doherty et al.) and observational reports, though some studies lack randomization due to ethical constraints.

Source

Sleep apnoea as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease: current evidence, basic mechanisms and research priorities: Fig. 1—

Walter T. McNicholas et al. · European Respiratory Journal · 2006

DOI 10.1183/09031936.00027406

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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