Estimating Cardiovascular Benefits of Tirzepatide in Sleep Apnea and Obesity: Insight from the SURMOUNT-OSA Trials

This commentary aims to offer a perspective on the effect of tirzepatide on hypoxic burden and provide indirect evidence of cardiovascular risk reduction after tirzepatide for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. It also discusses the role of tirzepatide-induced weight loss in the management of obstructive sleep apnea.

Recent Findings.

In the SURMOUNT-OSA phase 3 trials, tirzepatide, a new GIP/GLP-1 receptor co-agonist, reduced the apnea–hypopnea index, hypoxic burden, and body weight in adults with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. The change in apnea–hypopnea index is clinically relevant, but its impact on cardiovascular mortality remains unclear. Conversely, hypoxic burden predicts cardiovascular mortality across populations independent of AHI.

We attempted to postulate the magnitude of cardiovascular benefits of tirzepatide based on the reduction in hypoxic burden. Tirzepatide treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and obesity seems to result in hypoxic burden values associated with a lower cardiovascular mortality rate and thus might attenuate the negative cardiovascular impact of hypoxic burden.