ACRONYM weary!

Gatorbec · Post by **Gatorbec** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:39 am

So maybe this is a stupid question......but I'll ask it anyway!

I'm beginning to understand that if I want to benefit from my CPAP treatment, I'd better start taking an active role in it, because it doesn't seem like my ENT or my DME is going to drive this.

I've been keeping a record of my results straight from my machine and I've just gotten the data card and reader, so I hope to get a lot more data. The problem is, I'm really not sure what I'm looking at.

I know what AHI and AI and HI stand for, but I'm really not sure what they mean, if that makes any sense. Then there's all these other acronyms. Is there a resource somewhere out there that explains all this, not just what they stand for, but what it all means. I don't want to play doctor, but I do want to know more about what is going on with my treatment.

thanks !!

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:44 am

You could start with the "lightbulb" (above)......"Our Collective Wisdom".

AI = Apnea Index
HI = Hypopnea Index
AHI = Apnea Hypopnea Index (sum of the Apneas and Hypopneas expressed in per hour numbers)

Den

Bamalady · Post by **Bamalady** » Thu May 10, 2007 12:15 pm

Hi Gatorbec-

You may want to check out the info at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/2wuov5

It was helpful to me in the beginning but may give you more than you want to know.

SleepySandy · Post by **SleepySandy** » Thu May 10, 2007 12:53 pm

Bamalady - That's some link! You're right about it being a lot of information, but I'll probably read through it because I'm curious about everything.

This might also be helpful - the list is a lot smaller, and they also include the link to the page Bamalady listed http://www.apneasupport.org/viewtopic.php?t=2344

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:06 pm

One of the most confusing terms to newbies is "hypopnea". We all know what an apnea is (absolutely 100% blocked off airway, no breathing). Well, a hypopnea is light and shallow breathing which results in the oxygen level in your blood actually going down. Think of a really loud snore or where you're struggling to breathe because of a partially closed airway.

So then the indices of those two are just how many times an hour they happen. AHI is both idices added together.

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:28 pm

And then you can look at this site for a little more info regarding the MyEncore charts.

myencore.php

Even though it's a different machine and reports, the data and definitions would be the same.

Mask