New study aims to uncover why sleep apnea harms the heart and brain
NCT ID NCT04575740
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looked at 209 adults with moderate to severe sleep apnea to better understand how the condition affects the body. Instead of just counting breathing pauses, researchers used special measures like oxygen drops, heart rate changes, and sleep disruption. Participants used a CPAP machine for 12 weeks, and the team tracked changes in blood vessel health, blood pressure, and sleepiness. The goal was to find better ways to predict and prevent heart and brain problems linked to sleep apnea.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Positive airway pressure (PAP) device
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to better ways to predict and prevent heart and brain problems in people with sleep apnea.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study focused on measuring health effects, not testing a new treatment. The findings may not change current care or apply to all patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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209 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2020
- Finished
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Sep 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria: * Adults aged 21-80 years. * Participants with a previous diagnosis of moderate to severe obstructive sleep will be eligible to enroll and attend the baseline study. Patients with a total apnea-hypopnea index greater than 15 events/hr on the baseline study will be eligible for further participation. Exclusion criteria: * Current treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (including CPAP, oral appliances, supplemental oxygen). Patients must be untreated prior to the baseline visit. * Use of medications that might depress respiration (including opioids, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and Z drugs, including zolpidem, zopiclone, eszopiclone, and zaleplon). * Active use of non-prescription opioids (e.g., cocaine, methamphetamine) * Uncontrolled medical problem or major organ system disease, which, in the opinion of the investigators (PI and Co-Is), would interfere with the evaluation of the subject (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, unstable coronary heart disease, etc.). * History of congestive heart failure, renal insufficiency, systemic neurological condition that could affect respiration. * Sleep disordered breathing or respiratory disorders other than obstructive sleep apnea: * central sleep apnea (\>50% of respiratory events scored as central), * chronic hypoventilation/hypoxemia (awake SaO2 \< 92% by oximetry) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or other respiratory conditions. * Other sleep disorders: periodic limb movements (periodic limb movement arousal index \> 10/hr), narcolepsy, or parasomnias. * Patients unable or unwilling to use CPAP. * Insomnia or insufficient sleep (self-reported inability to sleep \>6 hrs night). * Pregnancy (women)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
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