AHI or Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) is a measurement of how many times an apnea episode occurs in one hour. An AHI of 5 below is considered normal. AN AHI of 30 or above is categorized as severe since it would mean that on average, the patient stops breating every two minutes.
There are three forms of sleep apnea; central (CSA), obstructive (OSA), and complex or mixed sleep apnea (a combination of CSA and OSA).
Central sleep apnea occures when breating is interrupted because of lack of effort in breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea involves a physical blockage which causes the airflow to stop, snoring is usually a symptom of OSA.
The goal in treating sleep apnea is to keep the air passage open and allow the patient to breath easily while sleeping. For OSA, a CPAP device is used to assist in breathing. It is a tight fitting face mask that is attached to a machine that assists in breathing. CPAP stands for Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
OSA increases cardiovascular mortality in the elderly
Untreated severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in the elderly, and adequate treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may significantly reduce this risk, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.
"Although the link between OSA and cardiovascular mortality is well established in younger patients, evidence on this relationship in the elderly has been conflicting," said lead author Miguel Ángel Martínez-García, MD, of La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital in Valencia, Spain. "In our study of 939 elderly patients, severe OSA not treated with CPAP was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality especially from stroke and heart failure, and CPAP treatment reduced this excess of cardiovascular mortality to levels similar to those seen in patients without OSA."
The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
