AHI - What does it really mean on the display

I have an Remstar auto m- series which I reset daily to see the actual numbers for the night before.

When it shows an AHI of 10.0 does that mean:

1. This is the per hour or per night numbers?
2. Is this what was responded to or prevented?
3. Is this what got by the machine and you really experienced them?

I can't do the software thing as you can see in my signature. It is possible with about $400.00 worth of stuff on, my old computer but I do not want to get into that.

My AHI has not gone below 8.8 on an average and is running 10 to 20 on a nightly reset basis.

I am only into this for about five weeks and do not get more than 4-5 hours a night on the machine for various reasons. That is my real problem.

Mask leaks are below the mask index but some say that on an auto machine that number does not mean much. I do not move around when sleeping and have tried the mask while awake at higher pressures and it did not leak.

I do not see leaks as a problem. I use an auto range of 8.0 -12.0 with a titration of about 10.0. I have made some adjustments in the auto range to start at 8.5 to 12.5 These have made no difference.

I tired it on CPAP one night at 9.5 and the AHI was not lower. The last four nights the AHI has been:

10
20.2
19.2
15.7

Am I too concerned about the AHI? I know I need to use the APAP longer than four hours but this has been difficult. I got seven hours one night and felt much better.

Hi, I have a Mac too, but have been able to install Encore on my husband's PC. Anyhow, your AHI's are definitely high (you want to aim for under 5.. and that's per hour). Either your mask is leaking somewhere, or your pressure is not set high enough, but one way or the other something's not working. The AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) is the 'important' number so you should speak to the doctor who prescribed the machine setting, and/or whoever you got your mask from - it may be just too large, or a bad fit all around and a different mask may be needed (I tried that UMFF and couldn't make it work well, so now I alternate between the Soyala and the Fisher Paykel Flexi-fit 432, using the 432 more often. They both work for me better than the others. What also works very well is Respironics Comfort Select (in my small-wide size) nasal mask and mouth taping.. in fact it may be the most effective, but I go in stages of wanting to tape and not. Oh, and I'm using a Remstar auto with C-flex, but don't use the c-flex.

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ABC, are you using the cflex? If so, at what number? Have you tried cflex lower/higher/off? If not, you might play around with that and see what happens.

1. This is the per hour or per night numbers?
2. Is this what was responded to or prevented?
3. Is this what got by the machine and you really experienced them?

Great questions...I too await the answers.

c-flex is set and used at 2. Will this effect the numbers that much? I hope someone will answer the so called good questions in the near future.

When you really think about it there are alot of fine points that you don't know until you think about just what something means.

I feel like there is so much I don't know and have yet to learn. The forum has been a big help but there are so many answers to get.

Well, there are so many things that can affect how you feel. All you can do is just tweak them and see if that makes a difference.

You can narrow the Auto range.
You can go to straight Cpap, and try various pressures.
You can solve mask leaks.
You can change Cflex settings or turn cflex off.

From what you've written, you already tried some of these things. It won't hurt to turn clfex off and see if that helps. Many of us turn cflex off. If that doesn't work, then turn it back on -- no biggie.

You just need to try different things until you find what works for you.

track wrote:

1. This is the per hour or per night numbers?
2. Is this what was responded to or prevented?
3. Is this what got by the machine and you really experienced them?

Great questions...I too await the answers.

The answers:

1. AHI is the number of times you had events (stopped breathing) per hour.

2. No, it's the number of events that weren't treated.

3. Yes, for some reason they happened.

Leaks matter always, most event happen because of leaks, some also are caused by the incorrect pressure, usually too low. On APAP the range can be set too wide, and the machine can't respond quickly enough to prevent the Apnea.

C-Flex has almost nothing to do with AHI being too high......................!!!

If your machine collects data, you can better see what is happening with your treatment, than you can from the machines screen. One nights data is better than none, but you need to see the big picture over time, and when events happen, so you can better deturmn the cause, and find the cure. Jim

1. This is the per hour or per night numbers?

Average incidents per hour for the period the machine was used.

2. Is this what was responded to or prevented?

These are the events that actually occurred. Prevented events would not show as the pressure prevetned them from occurring.

3. Is this what got by the machine and you really experienced them?

See 2 above.

I too, have an M series auto, although i no longer use the auto setting. An AHI under 5 events per hour is considered good. Mine typically run about 2 once I found the right interface, however, when on auto, I found the constant adjustment of the machine to be counterproductive, since the adjustments are made as a result of event that have occurred. I find that i get much better results using CPAP with CFlex.