Changes in Post-treatment Serum BNP Levels in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective: Severe sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is known to cause heart failure. Various treatments are currently available for SAS, and it is important to assess the alleviation of physical burden on the patient as a result of these treatments. We investigated whether SAS treatment improves serum brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) levels. Subjects and methods: The subject sample comprised 129 patients aged 14?84 years. Apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and serum BNP levels were measured in all patients. Each patient received suitable treatment; 3 months and 6 months after the start of the treatment, AHI and serum BNP level measurements were repeated, and the values for each patient were analyzed. Results: The correlation coefficients for the associations of baseline AHI and serum BNP levels with those at 3 and 6 months after treatment initiation ranged from 0.6 to 0.8. Treatment-induced variations in AHI and serum BNP levels exhibited similar correlations. Conclusion: SAS patients receiving treatment showed decreased serum BNP levels regardless of the type of treatment.