Significance of AHI number

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Suneesh S
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Suneesh S » Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:50 am

Also please let me know what are the datas I need to post for the complete evaluation.

Juanefny
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Juanefny » Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:53 am

zoocrewphoto wrote:It also depends on how long the events are. My mom had an ahi of 3.4 when I let her use my machine with full data. I checked the graph and found a cluster of events longer than 30 seconds each, and one of them over a minute long.
How can you tell how long each event is?

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Pugsy
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:10 am

Juanefny wrote:How can you tell how long each event is?
Depending on brand and model and software used...sometimes the machine itself will report duration of the event (S9) and with the Respironics machines we can use SleepyHead and get an approximate duration by counting the seconds by zooming in on the air flow.

Your S9 Adapt ASV machine will report duration of events in ResScan with a little box over the flagged event and that is duration of event in seconds.
When using SleepyHead you can click on the Events tab...then click on the category of events...and it will show when each event occurred and the number in parentheses is duration in seconds.

Now Respironics users...your machine doesn't do any second counting but Sleepyhead will give an approx duration of event in the same manner as the S9 does. It isn't exact but it is close. To get it exact you have to zoom in and count the seconds of reduced flow manually but it's hard to see the beginning and ending when zoomed in that close so I just go by the approx value that is in parentheses...it's going to be close...within 2 or 3 seconds.
Suneesh S wrote:Also please let me know what are the datas I need to post for the complete evaluation.
I only look at AHI and each event category breakdown...that's on the left side of the Sleepyhead daily detailed report and the graphs on the right I only bother with the
Events graph
Flow rate graph
Pressure graph ...if using auto adjusting pressures
Leak graph
and if S9 machine...sometimes the Flow limitation graph and the snore graph only if it appears very active.

Mask pressure graph...and AHI graph aren't really needed and can be turned off in SleepyHead using Preferences/graphs tab. Just remove the check mark. Turning them off normally lets leak graph move up into viewing and you can get everything on one screen shot.

Speaking of screen shots...what kind of computer are you using and what operating system is on it.
All computers will do screen shots...some easier than others depending on operating system. Windows Vista and newer has the Snipping Tool which is the best thing since sliced bread.

See this thread for examples of the image of reports that I like to see.
Screen shot thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81072&p=737779#p737779
Might be something in there to help you figure out how to do screen shots too.

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Suneesh S
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Suneesh S » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:28 pm

Pugsy. I have all the datas with me and I have the snipping tool with me but I am not able to paste the image here. Will not the copy and paste work here.

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Pugsy
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:57 pm

You have to use some place like Photobucket and use a link to the image. Read that thread about screen shots again and it explains about Photobucket links.

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Suneesh S
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Suneesh S » Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:36 pm

Image

Image

Image


Hi Pugsy. This is my report. Please let me know your feedback

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Pugsy
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:48 pm

When you do the screen shots take it off the Events tab on the left and put it back to the detailed tab so we can see the AHI and breakdown easily in an hourly average which is what we are used to seeing.

Your pressures are all over the place. I suspect the minimum pressure could stand just a little increase and it would help with the obstructive events we see and also help stabilize that pressure line and also maybe help the Flow limitations a little. Not something that is urgent but sure something to consider.
That's a lot of pressure movement from very low to very high and it potentially could be a disruptive factor to your sleep.
How are you sleeping?

Overall for a newbie though it's a very decent report...leak line is really good. It's easy to see the spikes from probably mask refitting. Nothing screaming out "fix me" but perhaps stabilizing the pressure might be of benefit...sure wouldn't hurt.
Often when the minimum pressure is more optimally set then we don't see those high spikes in pressure. The machine when optimally set will be in a more "prevent" mode instead of a "fix it" mode and the pressures don't need to go so high so often.

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Suneesh S
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Suneesh S » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:21 pm

Thanks Pugsy. I have attached the screen shot as suggested by you. I do wake up some times in the night. I will try to change the pressure setting. What is the minimum pressure you recommend?

Image

musculus
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by musculus » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:38 pm

The single best indicator is your energy level during the day.
Suneesh S wrote:Hi,

I am new to CPAP. I am using S9 autoset with swift FX softgel mask. I have been using the machine for the last 2 weeks and my AHI numbers is showing less than 5. Is the AHI numbers alone a good enough indicator.

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Suneesh S
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Suneesh S » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:46 pm

yes but that keeps varying every day.

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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:47 pm

Looks like you are currently using 4 to 20 range which is pretty much the default from factory settings and then with EPR and that 4 cm base you aren't even able to really utilize EPR while awake for comfort.

Your AHI isn't bad as it is. I can't see the average overall pressure but I am not sure that it is really all that important at the moment anyway with all the changing pressures.

I think if it were me I would just try a 6 cm minimum and see what happens. That 4 cm can seem a bit stifling anyway and most people find it more comfortable to use around 6 ish minimum.
I don't think you need a lot more pressure to deal with the obstructive in nature events because technically those are acceptable now but maybe a little more minimum would improve general comfort a bit and that along with hopefully a not so wild pressure line might enable you to sleep a little better. It's hard to know for sure at this stage of things. Even under the best of conditions adjusting to having the alien stuck to our face is a challenge.

I suspect that the wild pressures are more in a response to flow limitations than full grown OAs anyway. Flow limitations can present their own unique challenges. I would start small and go slow and watch things closely and main thing right now is to reduce the wake ups during the night and accept the fact that sometimes we just have them. Heck, I think it was 3 weeks before I didn't wake up every 30 minutes just to feel the mask on my face because it was there...not because I had any problems with the mask or the pressures or anything like that. It was just the simple fact that sleeping with the alien on the face isn't natural and takes a bit of time to adjust to even if all other conditions are quite comfortable.

Going from 4 to 6 minimum should still be quite comfortable and it will let EPR help you be comfortable. With the starting at 4 cm you didn't really get to experience EPR because the machine can't go lower than 4 anyway.

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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by bwexler » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:53 pm

Hi
I'm not Pugsy. If it were me I would increase the minimum pressure to around 7 and the max to 16.
Then watch the reports for about a week. If the reports show a lot of time at either limit line adjust the pressure about .5 cm at a time until you seldom touch the upper or lower limit lines. Then you know your machine is auto adjusting as needed and not being restricted by your settings, but it is also confined enough not to go wild as indicated in your current graphs.

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musculus
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by musculus » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:14 pm

Looking at your report, even though the AHI number is low, I bet the sleep quality was not very good.

Based on the data (especially 3:30 to 5 am), I would guess the min pressure should be set at least 10 cm, or higher.

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Suneesh S
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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Suneesh S » Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:13 am

Image

My pressure graph after I increased my minimum pressure settings to 6. Looks like it is more stable.

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Re: Significance of AHI number

Post by Pugsy » Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:16 am

That pressure line still shows a lot of movement.
How is your sleep quality? Sleeping well or having a lot of wake ups?
How are you feeling during the day?
Any mention on your sleep study reports of your OSA being worse when on your back or REM sleep?

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