Abstract
Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) effects up to 30% of men and 15% of women in North America. Untreated, OSA is associated with the development of hypertension, heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmia, and stroke. Treatment reduces these risks. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine outlines the first line treatment of OSA as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). However, many patients are unable to tolerate CPAP. One of the newest therapies approved in 2014 is implantation of a hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HNS) which functions by stimulating the tongue protrudor muscles to reduce upper airway obstruction. However, there is minimal research investigating HNS's effects on comorbidities. Currently there are two published studies showing improved blood pressure control and heart rate variability, but each study only included 46 patients. Several factors warrant a comparison including the lack of data, procedural risks, and procedural cost; especially, when considering the proven efficacy and low cost of CPAP. We present a retrospective analysis of blood pressure after HNS implantation. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that HNS implantation will improve blood pressure control. Methods: All cases of HNS implantation at MercyOne North Iowa Mason City, Iowa were retrospectively reviewed. Each case was manually reviewed for pre- and post-surgery blood pressure, heart failure exacerbations, arrhythmia, hemoglobin A1c, stroke, and acute coronary syndrome. Results: Fifty-nine patients had a mean change in blood pressure of +1.76 systolic and +0.76 diastolic with a standard error of 2.10 and 1.29 respectively. The mean follow-up time was 5.7 months after the fine-tuning sleep titration study. Five patients needed one less blood pressure medication and 6 patients needed one more. Preliminary regression analysis does not support gender, age, apnea-hypopnea index, or body mass index being predictive of change in blood pressure with HNS implantation. There was no statistically significant effect on other comorbidities. Conclusion: This study showed no clinically significant change in blood pressure after HNS implantation. Limitations include the small sample size and only one follow-up blood pressure.
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