Apnea Index and the severity
of Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea Guide
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Sleep Apnia
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 Apnea index is a simple measure used by sleep technicians to determine the severity of person's sleep apnea.
How do you know if your sleep apnea is severe enough to cause a concern? How sick is a person with sleep apnea disorder? The sleep specialists need to answer these questions to decide on the most adequate treatment.
Let me describe the term of Apnea Index:
Obstructive apnea is defined as cessation of nasal or oral airflow for at least 10 seconds. This one episode is called an apnea event. But if your airflow in and out of your lungs is reduced for at least 10 seconds, then you will have an hypopnea event.
So, if your breathing stops in you sleep for...let's say...30 seconds, then you have an apnea event or apnea episode. But now we want to know how many of these apnea events you have per hour of sleep. Let's suppose you have 15 apnea events per hour of sleep. This means that you have an index of 15.
In conclusion:- an apnea index or AI shows the average number of apneas per hour of sleep.
- an hypopnea index or HI shows the average number of hypopneas per hour of sleep.
- an apnea and hypopnea index or AHI shows the average number of apneas and hypopnea per hour of sleep. Some doctors use the term of respiratory disturbance index or RDI, instead of AHI.
Another measurement used in sleep laboratory is the total number of apnea events during an entire night. In our example, you have 120 apneas in an eight-hour night.
Think about it! You wake up at least 120 times a night, without air, gasping and sweaty. And you will not even notice. It's obvious why are you so tired during the day! To wake up at least 120 times a night is a "happy case" for a patient with sleep apnea. Is not unusual for a person to have at least 200 apneas in an eight-hour night sleep, case of moderate or even
severe sleep apnea.
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