+- Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Public Area (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Public-Area)
+--- Forum: Main Apnea Board Forum (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Forum)
+--- Thread: New User: Help Define AHI (/Thread-New-User-Help-Define-AHI)
New User: Help Define AHI - Aaron Williams - 11-01-2019
Sorry, Im sure this information is already out there.
When my ACPAP reports AHI, does this number represent events that were treated, not treated or both? Is it an indication of how effective my ACPAP treatment is, or is it a representation of how severe my condition is?
I assume my machine is learning how to better treat me and there is a way to determine its efficacy. I would also like to be able to monitor the severity of my illness. Do I need this machine more of less over time? I expect AHI will answer one or both of these questions.
OSCAR's Event Breakdown has only muddied the waters further for me. I have learned alot from the wiki but am far from the full picture.
As im sure this is the most basic of questions, I am grateful for any link or answer.
RE: New User: Help Define AHI - Gideon - 11-01-2019
Welcome to the forum.
AHI is what is NOT treated. To get an Idea of how well your machine has worked for you look at the reduction in AHI. For example my latest diagnostic study I had a AHI of 77. Now with my machine, I frequently get an AHI of 0.5. So that is over 76 events per hour that I am NOT getting.
There is no way of knowing how many events your machine eliminated simply because they were eliminated and there is no way to count what is not there.
It is very uncommon to be cured to the point of not needing a CPAP, this typically is something that you will have for the rest of your life.
I do suggest that you post your daily charts and ask us what we see. Be sure to tell us how you feel.
RE: New User: Help Define AHI - sheepless - 11-01-2019
no worries, everyone starts with limited info and most of us have had similar questions. ahi is the sum of obstructive and central apnea plus hypopnea averaged over the number of hours the machine was on in a 24 hour period, usually noon to noon. in your sleep study without cpap, it indicates the severity of your condition. when using cpap, it indicates the degree of residual apnea inadequately treated. the medical establishment considers <5 ahi as adequately treated. ahi isn't the only measure of success so be sure to describe how you feel when posting screenshots and asking questions.
your machine doesn't learn; it's up to you and/or your sleep med team to adjust for optimum efficacy. that can be determined by seeing the data reported out from the machine to a program like oscar. of course few in the med establishment will look that deeply (beyond compliance) unless you complain complain complain and they still won't choose to look at oscar data but more likely to have you do another study. but it does give you an understanding of how effective your treatment is and something to have in hand when you go to your appointments.
chances are you'll need to use the machine until some better therapy comes along. for older folks, who knows whether that'll happen in our lifetime.
stick around, read everything and ask away. best to learn how to post screenshots for the most insight from responders. before you know it, you'll be dispensing your own accumulated wisdom to the next round of newbies!
RE: New User: Help Define AHI - Aaron Williams - 11-01-2019
Bonjour, sheepless. Thankyou! I now have a foundation form witch I can begin to understand this subject. I feel ALOT less lost. OSCAR makes more sense now. Soon I will figure out how to post my data.
RE: New User: Help Define AHI - Sleeprider - 11-01-2019
Aaron, welcome to Apnea Board. You have in my opinion, the best auto CPAP machine around, but according to your profile it is set to the default 4-20 pressure settings. You may have some residual AHI, but we can help you to optimize those settings to be more comfortable and treated more effectively. I look forward to seeing some charts from you to start the process.
RE: New User: Help Define AHI - SarcasticDave94 - 11-01-2019
Aaron Williams, welcome to the Apnea Board. We'll do our best to help make the therapy do it's best. Post up OSCAR data as suggested and you'll get the suggestions needed. A great eve to you.
RE: New User: Help Define AHI - Dormeo - 11-02-2019
Let us know if you need help figuring out how to post an Oscar chart. And before you post one, be sure to turn off the pie chart and the calendar so the experts can see the information in the left panel. It'll also help them if you could squeeze these graphs into the screenshot:
Events
Flow rate
Pressure
Leaks
Flow limitations
Snores.
I'm so glad you've brought your questions to this forum!