What is sleep apnea? Sleeping disorder suffered by Joe Biden that has sparked new health concerns

President Joe Biden again caused a public outcry about his health this week when he appeared with lines on his face that are typical of a CPAP mask.

It is a common sleep-related breathing disorder in which patients snore, choke, and gasp 20 to 30 times an hour at night, making it difficult to get a full night’s sleep.

When breathing stops for 10 seconds or more at a time, the oxygen level in the blood drops, increasing the risk of hypertension, stroke, and heart attacks over time. Older people, who are already more likely to have sleep apnea, often suffer from poorer health as a result.

The older a person is, the more severe the effects of sleep apnea can be, as research shows that the condition dramatically increases the risks of age-related cardiovascular changes, such as a higher risk of heart attack.

To treat sleep apnea, patients are often required to wear a continuous positive airway pressure machine – popularly known as a CPAP machine – which provides a steady flow of pressurized air into the nose and mouth and keeps the airways open to optimize breathing during sleep.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleeping next to a snoring partner may require nighttime earplugs, a white noise machine, or even a separate room. But snoring may deserve some real concern.

Not all people with sleep apnea snore. But if the snoring is punctuated by abrupt breathing stops and bouts of choking or gasping during sleep, as well as excessive daytime sleepiness, difficulty concentrating and high blood pressure, that could indicate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

OSA is the most common type of sleep apnea, affecting an estimated 10 to 30 percent of American adults, although many cases go undiagnosed. Men are two to three times more likely to get it than women, although obesity and advanced age are the biggest risk factors.

The condition occurs when the muscles that support the throat relax and the airway narrows and collapses, meaning air can’t get in or out of the nose or mouth.

When this happens, breathing may stop for 10 seconds or more at a time until reflexes kick in and breathing resumes, often with no memory of the morning, with only lingering fatigue and dry mouth left.

Trying to breathe against a collapsed airway ultimately denies the body vital oxygen. While normal blood oxygenation levels hover around 90 to 95 percentan apnea sleeper can see those levels drop into the 80’s and even the 70’s.

Oxygen saturation levels will normally return to normal once breathing resumes, but for a person with OSA who breathes in fits and starts at all hours of the night, permanent damage to health can result.

For example, frequent drops in blood oxygen levels have been shown to increase blood pressure, increasing hypertension

In fact, high blood pressure and sleep apnea go hand in hand. Obstructive sleep apnea makes high blood pressure worse if the person already has it, and the chances of them having it are good, as 30 to 40 percent of people with hypertension also have OSA.

People with OSA are also more prone to heart attacks. The American Thoracic Association reports that people with untreated sleep apnea are twice as likely to have a later heart attack as people without OSA.

And among all Americans hospitalized for it coronary artery disease — a condition characterized by a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries that narrows the arteries and blocks the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart — 70 percent were found to have OSA.

What is a CPAP device?

Someone unfamiliar with sleep apnea may not recognize the sci-fi look of a CPAP machine, which almost always includes a partial or full face mask.

Straps wrap around the head and are connected to a device that covers the nose and sometimes the mouth, depending on the type of machine, which is then connected to a long, thin hose through which a steady stream of pressurized air flows.

When the device is properly sealed over the nose and/or mouth, the continuous inflow of oxygen keeps the airways open.

The machine’s motor drives the internal fan that generates the airflow, which sometimes produces a Darth Vader-esque heavy breathing noise.

White House spokesmen, who confirmed to DailyMail.com that the president had used a CPAP device to improve his sleep quality, did not specify the type.

The masks that attach to the buzzing CPAP machine vary based on what the patient is comfortable with.

Based on the locations of marks on President Biden’s face — extending from the sides of his mouth, below his ears, and behind his neck — he could be using a full-face device that covers both the nose and mouth .

What does this mean for Biden?

The revelation that President Biden used a CPAP machine to get a good night’s sleep came during his latest public verbal slip-up.

The coincidental timing of both the visible markings and the high-profile gaffe has led to a narrative that Mr Biden’s health is out of order for the office in which he serves.

A diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea becomes more common as a person ages, and can further worsen an elderly person’s health.

In a study of nearly 11,000 people, people with obstructive sleep apnea had a higher risk of sudden death due to cardiac arrest. People over 60 were at the highest risk.

As a person ages, the muscles, including those in the throat that support the airways, weaken.

Older people are also more likely than younger, healthier counterparts to experience co-occurring health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, all of which are exacerbated by sleep apnea.

President Biden is not known to have any heart disease, although he has been treated for atrial fibrillation (AFib), or irregular heartbeat.

While the link between AFib and sleep apnea is not fully understood, current research suggests that people with OSA are also more likely to develop recurrent AFib.

Older people are also less physically resilient, which may prevent the body from fully recovering from periods of respiratory arrest and reduced blood oxygen levels.

A lack of oxygen in the blood can spell disaster in the form of hypoxia, which damages blood vessels and impedes the flow of oxygen throughout the body, including the brain. Over time, this increases the risk of stroke.

Hypoxia caused by sleep apnea episodes can also cause damage to brain cells over time, contributing to cognitive decline and dementia.

It can also cause oxidative stress, or an imbalance between the production of harmful free radicals and the body’s ability to neutralize them with antioxidants. Over time, this leads to DNA damage that affects the brain.

AFib, often exacerbated by sleep apnea, is also a major risk factor for the formation of blood clots that can travel to the brain and cause stroke.