Uncontrolled hypertension is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and mortality. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in hypertension and treatment using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been shown to effectively lower blood pressure. Despite its clinical significance, OSA remains underdiagnosed in patients with hypertension, because the current standard of care to diagnose OSA is in-laboratory polysomnography, which is inconvenient and often inaccessible for high-risk populations. An alternative to in-laboratory polysomnography is home sleep apnea testing, which has been validated against in-laboratory polysomnography and may be more convenient, accessible, and potentially cost-effective. The objective of this study is to compare home sleep apnea testing to in-laboratory polysomnography in a randomized controlled trial. The investigators will assess whether the use of home sleep apnea testing, compared to use of in-laboratory polysomnography, leads to higher rates of OSA diagnosis and treatment using CPAP, a reduction in blood pressure, improved sleep-related outcomes, and greater patient satisfaction among patients with hypertension at 6 months. The investigators will also assess whether home testing is cost-effective.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
190
Use of a home sleep apnea test that records respiratory effort, pulse, oxygen saturation and nasal flow, and reports apneas, hypopneas, flow limitation, snoring and blood oxygen saturation in order to detect obstructive sleep apnea.
Level 1 in-laboratory polysomnography for the detection of obstructive sleep apnea.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Women's College Hospital
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Citrus Medical Clinic
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Diagnosis of OSA
The investigators will track the number of subjects in each arm who are diagnosed with OSA. Subjects who withdraw or are lost to follow-up without receiving a diagnosis of OSA will be included in our analysis as not having received an OSA diagnosis.
Time frame: 6 months
Treatment using CPAP
The proportion of patients treated for OSA using CPAP
Time frame: 6 months
Change in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure
Change in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure from baseline to 6 months
Time frame: 6 months
Sleep-related quality of life (as assessed by the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire)
Sleep-related quality of life (as assessed by the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire) at 6 months. Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) encompasses 5 subscales: activity level, vigilance, intimacy and sexual relationships, general productivity, social outcome. An average score is calculated for each subscale and the 5 subscales are totaled to produce a total score. Subscale scores range from 1-4 with total scores ranging from 5-20. Higher scores indicate better functional status.
Time frame: 6 months
Daytime Sleepiness (as assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale)
Daytime Sleepiness (as assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale) at 6 months. Scores on Epworth Sleepiness Scale range from range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating higher average sleep propensity in daily life (daytime sleepiness).
Time frame: 6 months
Patient satisfaction with sleep testing
Patient satisfaction for each strategy and treatment (as assessed by a Likert scale) at 6 months. Scores range from 0-16, with higher scores indicating increased satisfaction.
Time frame: 6 months
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