What is AHI?

Apnea, Hypopnea, Apnoea, OSA

To break it down, the term apnea means that you stop breathing for at least 10 seconds. Hypopnea is when you have a partial blockage of your airway so your breath is more shallow than normal. When you look at your apnea-hypopnea index, it tells you how many apneas and hypopneas you have per hour while you sleep and gives you an average. For example, if your AHI is 2, you have approximately two incidents of hypopnea or apnea per hour for every hour that you’re asleep.

An AHI less than 5 is considered normal, and some patients with severe sleep apnea may be told by their doctor that they can accept even higher numbers so long as they’re feeling more rested each morning, experiencing fewer symptoms and their AHI is progressively decreasing.