ACE-inhibitors and obstructive sleep apnoea

Our findings indicate that ACEI may worsen OSA in subjects who develop upper airway irritation during treatment. In OSA, soft palate inflammation has been described as a consequence of snoring and of repeated closure/opening of the airway passages. The parallel decrease of eNO and AHI after ACEI withdrawal, suggests that cough and obstructive apnoeas were, at least in part, sustained by ACEI-induced upper airway inflammation. Our findings indicate that ACEI may increase the degree of OSA-induced inflammation and thus contribute to upper airway collapsibility during sleep