What does an AHI reading actually mean?

[Triops]

I have a Devillebis Auto Sleep cube previously had a Phillips RemStar Pro on the NHS (for information)

At the start of the day I always check the night's AHI reading. Tonight it was 7.0( it has been 4.0 -5.0), pre treatment it had been as high as 48.0 per hour

Does that mean that the machine recognised 7 events and dealt successfuly with them, or does it mean it recognised 7 events it could not deal with.
In otherwords do 'dealt with evenst' show up at all?

thanks

[Kelly @ Intus]

Hi Triops,

The AHI is the number of apnoeas or hypopneas events you experience per hour. So pre treatment you were having 48 events per hour. Whilst using the CPAP machine, your AHI has been reduced to 7 (although you mentioned that it has been 4-5). Your target AHI would to be 5 or below, which shows that your CPAP therapy is working well for you at present.

The CPAP machine recognises when you are starting to have an event, and increases the pressure accordingly to reduce or prevent the event from happening, therefore reducing the number of actual events greatly from 48 to 7 in this instance . When the machine prevents any events from happening then these would not show up on your AHI score. Please let me know if you have any additional questions, or would like any further assistance.

Kelly

[Triops]

So if you like the API score represents Apnea events during the night that 'got past the machine' at its current settings. Is this a correct way of seeing it?

[Kelly @ Intus]

Hi Triops,

Yes, the AHI (events per hour) score represents the events during the night that got past the machine.

If I can be of any further assistance, then please let me know.

Kelly

[Triops]

Thanks for your quick reply. I have moved from a Phillips remstar one pro to a Devillbiss Sleepcube DV54D. The Phillips constantly has given me lower readings over time than the Sleepcube which I bought to replace it. I prefer the sleepcube especially the autoadjust idea. I don't feel when I awake in the morning that my face is being'blown off' by the constant 'fixed' CPAP pressure of the Phillips.

Is it right to say that API events tend to be higher with an auto CPAP machine than a fixed pressure machine. I was regularly getting API of 3 and less with the Phillips ,but have always had higher readings with the Sleepcube, still averaging 4.5 over 30days, but the readings are higher.than I used to get with the fixed CPAP Phillips, sometimes going up to API 7 max.

Is there a general reading difference between auto and fixed CPAP machines?

[Kelly @ Intus]

Hi Triops,

I am glad that the Sleepcube Auto CPAP machine is working well for you. I would suggest discussing your results for both CPAP machines with your doctor to see to see what they advise.

However I can advise that in general the AHI is more accurate on an auto CPAP machine because they have far more sensors built-in. Plus, different manufacturers use different parameters to determine what is/isn't an apnoea.

Kelly