Understanding Your Sleep Apnea AHI Score
by Dr. Scott Bolding
When you’re being diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea there’s a lot of new information to learn. Different treatments, symptoms, and even new terms. One term you may have heard from us or read about online is your AHI score. And as you’ve tried to learn as much as you can about OSA you’re probably wondering what an AHI score is and why it’s important.
You’re AHI score helps us understand the severity of your sleep apnea. It’s one of the first things we look at when diagnosing sleep apnea. At PRECiDENT, we want you to have as much knowledge as possible about your sleep apnea and what we’re doing. So, we want to walk through what AHI means and how it helps us in diagnosing sleep apnea.
What is a Sleep Apnea AHI Score?
AHI stands for Apnea-Hypopnea Index. Your sleep apnea AHI score is a system that shows us whether you have sleep apnea. It also shows us how severe your OSA is. Once we have this score we can take the next steps in examining your airway so we can find the root cause and offer the right treatment.
How Are AHI Scores Measured?
A sleep apnea AHI score is measured during a sleep study. Sleep studies are an important part of the diagnostic process. Along with AHI scores, they measure heart rate, and blood oxygen levels, among other things. We use all of this information to understand your sleep apnea better.
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What Do AHI Scores Mean?
As we already noted, the sleep apnea AHI score tells us both if you have sleep apnea and also how severe it is. Anything less than 5 events per hour is considered normal. Between 5 and 15 events per hour is mild. Between 15 and 30 events per hour is moderate. And anything over 30 events per hour is considered severe.Sources
Meadows, A. (2022, September 2). Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI). Sleep Foundation. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-apnea/ahi
SleepApnea.org. (2022b, September 29). What does AHI represent? sleepapnea.org. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.sleepapnea.org/what-does-ahi-represent/
Whitbourne, K. (2018, February 6). Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI). WebMD. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/sleep-apnea-ahi-numbers
Your Sleep Apnea AHI Score
The First Step Toward Better Sleep
Oral appliances are a great treatment option if you have mild sleep apnea and can’t tolerate CAP therapy. However, considering the effectiveness of CPAP therapy you really need to think through this decision. Consider both the pros and cons of oral appliances.
Ultimately, whether oral appliances are right for you depends on your unique needs. Discuss everything with your doctor before moving forward.