STOP-BANG Calculator

Obstructive sleep apnea is frequently undiagnosed because its symptoms, snoring, daytime fatigue, and pauses in breathing during sleep, are often dismissed or unnoticed by the person experiencing them. Running through the eight STOP-BANG items gives a quick, structured way to see whether your combination of symptoms and physical characteristics warrants a conversation with your doctor about sleep apnea testing.

This is especially useful before a scheduled surgery, when anesthesiologists commonly use STOP-BANG to flag patients who may need extra airway monitoring, or simply when you or a partner have noticed loud snoring or breathing pauses at night.

• Anyone with loud snoring or witnessed breathing pauses during sleep who wants a structured way to gauge their OSA risk.
• Patients preparing for surgery who want to understand why their anesthesia team may ask about sleep apnea symptoms.
• People with treated or untreated hypertension who want to explore hypertension's link to undiagnosed sleep apnea, since the two conditions frequently coexist.
• Healthcare students and clinicians learning to apply the STOP-BANG screening tool in practice.

This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only and does not diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. A formal diagnosis requires a sleep study interpreted by a qualified healthcare provider, so always follow up on a high score with your doctor.

• STOP-BANG Score, the primary result, your total point count out of 8, based on how many of the eight validated items apply to you.
• OSA Risk Category, whether your score falls into the low (0-2), intermediate (3-4), or high (5-8) risk band for obstructive sleep apnea, as defined by the original validation studies.

A higher score does not confirm OSA, but it does indicate a statistically greater likelihood that a sleep study would find clinically significant apnea, which is why scores of 5 or above are generally flagged for further evaluation.

1. Answer Snoring, whether your snoring is loud enough to be heard through a closed door.
2. Answer Tiredness, whether you feel tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the day, even after a full night's sleep.
3. Answer Observed Apnea, whether anyone has noticed you stop breathing, gasp, or choke while asleep.
4. Answer High Blood Pressure, whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for hypertension.
5. Answer BMI Over 35, Age Over 50, Neck Circumference Over 40cm, and Male Gender based on your own characteristics.
6. Review your STOP-BANG Score and OSA Risk Category in the results panel.
7. If your score falls in the intermediate or high range, discuss the result with a qualified healthcare provider about further sleep apnea evaluation.

• Using the score to rule out sleep apnea. STOP-BANG is a sensitive screen, not a diagnosis. A low score with heavy snoring, witnessed pauses, or unexplained daytime sleepiness still warrants a sleep study.
• Skipping the measured items. Neck circumference, BMI, and blood pressure are often guessed. Each is a scored yes/no with a hard threshold that can change the risk band.
• Ignoring a high score because you feel fine. Untreated moderate-to-severe apnea raises the risk of hypertension, arrhythmia, and motor-vehicle crashes even when daytime symptoms seem mild.

• NHLBI (NIH): sleep apnea — symptoms, diagnosis by sleep study, and treatment.
• AASM Sleep Education: obstructive sleep apnea — when screening should lead to a diagnostic sleep test.
• MedlinePlus (NIH): sleep apnea — plain-language patient information.