AHI Score - Why Is It Important?

What is an AHI score? This is something many patients ask once they have done a sleep study and they receive information telling them that their AHI was high. AHI stands for Apnea-Hypopnea Index, let's break this down to get a better understanding.

Apnea is the cessation of breathing for more than 10 seconds during periods of the night. Hypopnea is shallow breathing for 10 seconds or more resulting in a 30-90% reduction in airflow from your normal breathing that results in a 3-4% decrease in your oxygen saturation.

Collectively, Apneas and Hypopneas are called events and they are calculated by counting all of the events and dividing the number of events by the number of hours slept. You might ask why do you need to know the AHI and the answer is very simple; your AHI score provides you an indication of how severe your sleep apnea is is used by professionals to determine what therapy is right for you and also to determine if any adjustments need to be made to the given therapy. There are multiple treatment options if you do have a high AHI.

Treatment options for patients that have sleep apnea are as follows:

CPAP machine therapy involves wearing a mask connected to a machine that keeps your airways open via constant positive air pressure.

Oral appliance involves you going to a Dentist and them designing an appliance that will keep your jaw forward, in turn, keeping your tongue from blocking the airway.

An electrical stimulator implant involves a surgery that will put a stimulator in your body to provide an electrical pulse every time the tongue falls back and blocks your airway.

These are the three main treatment options when it comes to your AHI and whether you choose one treatment method or another is completely up to you. One thing we can tell you for sure is if you have a high AHI you do want to seek treatment because having sleep apnea can put you at risk of developing a multitude of health conditions. Whether your AHI is at 5 or is above 30 no matter the level you should get treatment immediately to prevent any further conditions from developing.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:54 What is AHI?
01:53 AHI Calculation
02:21 Treatment options
03:14 Should I look for treatment?
04:40 Causes of a High AHI

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[lew]

I have been on cpap for almost 9 years, & your explantion is wonderful!!! You explain AHI the way no doctor ever has, you made it very understandable .

[bernardvreulink]

The very BEST explanation of AHI yet!!!

[skepticalobserver]

Life changing! With my CPAP I’m 0.7-1.3. Old number was through the roof and I woke up with horrible headaches nearly every day. All gone now.

[YoungFreshGlobalTravel-cyzj]

This dude gives you the FACTS straight up no BULLSH*T! Thanks a lot man.

[karlnordinger]

Excellent presentation, learned the definition of AHI, importance of mask fit, cushion replacement and lots more ...

[TonyRome]

Excellent presentation; thank you for making it understandable.

[rosalindturner]

Great information!! This helped me a lot🥰

[ubbme]

So is the AHI number events per hour? That's the only numbers my machine shows. I rarely go above 0.4 events per hour and probably average about 0.2 events per hour. Do I need to be on a CPAP machine? Or is the AHI number affected by the CPAP machine? I haven't had a good nights rest since i started using the machine.

[Sam-elhq]

My AHI is never over 1 and is usually 0.3 or 0.7 but I still wear a cpap and fatigue is horrible everyday and has been for years now. I can't workout and no, longer try and the doctors have ruled out everything but even with a low AHI still want me to wear my cpap. It makes no sense and I actually feel worse when I don't wear it so I don't know. With such a low AHI I don't even think I need one.

[carolinehernandez]

This information is very helpful. I was gifted a Resmed 9 and have been using it for 3 months. I had an at home sleep study 3 months ago that indicated I have sever sleep apnea. Because I did not purchase the machine from the company that I used for the sleep study it has been very difficult to get a compliance report. I have viewed many Youtube videoes to learn how to access the compliance report information and have been recording my report daily for the last week.
Do you have any recommendations for accessing the compliance report using wireless date therapy modules on the back? I do not have the modules and wonder if they are available for purchase since my machine is a 9 and the current version is an 11 from my understanding.

[lauravest]

If you need to use a tissue, sip some water through a straw or scratch an intolerable itch should you unfasten the mask or just raise it enough to take care of the problem? Does this register as one incident or more?

[willpompe]

The ahi percent overall is 17 percent but number of events a night .04 or . 02

[andrewpersaud]

People without sleep apnea made up the rule that 5 or under is normal. Anything over 2 and I feel like ass. I'm actually quoting my doctor right now too lol. He has sleep apnea himself so his goal is always 2 or under and he ignores the 5. I guarantee everyone with sleep apnea can relate to this comment. There's a drastic difference in energy when you can get it under 2

[MilkoMilkovicz]

Even when i use the Cpap i am still tired, the AHI is around 3, 5-5 or 6

[Miss_Millie_]

My sleep study showed 718 events in 8hrs of sleep (so an AHI of 90). With therapy my AHI is under 1. You'd think I'd feel better for it but I don't. Why is that??

[johnwaldron]

Hi, my four year old airsense10 auto was replaced in July this year because of the noise it was making with a same up to date model. I wear a full face mask with no leak problems, my AHI was 5.0 or below on the old machine but from day one of using the new one my AHI shot up to an average of the high teens sometimes 21. The sleep lab have remotely tested it and say it’s working fine but they did alter the EPR but it made no difference. Any ideas would be much appreciated, it’s set at min 4 & max 20, it’s too much of a coincidence that my AHI changed dramatically the day I got my new replacement. John.

[TigeyKat]

During my test in Feb, I was at 156. This week I finally got a machine (yes, four months later). First night, 0.4. Second 0.6. Third night (last night) 0.0. Is this normal? Or is the machine THAT good?

[Maltesezx]

I've seen videos where it was said you can't trust what your machine is reporting regarding AHI.

[managingmarlys]

I am set at 4 and even with that have mostly stomach air so uncomfortable. Is there a machine that goes below four is their a way to slow the air

[trevormay]

Hi I purchased an airsense 10 about three months ago unfortunately the machine developed a fault and I was without it for six weeks while resmed repaired it.
My concern is that my AHI was 5.6 and central apnea 2.4 since the machine has been returned it’s jumped up to 17 and 15 is this normal or could the machine still have a fault!
It just seems odd given I’m using the same settings??