UNITED STATES NEWS

President Biden has started using a CPAP machine at night to deal with sleep apnea

Jun 28, 2023, 1:47 PM

President Joe Biden speaks with members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn o...

President Joe Biden speaks with members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Chicago. Biden has started using a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine at night to help with sleep apnea, the White House said Wednesday after indents from the mask were visible on his face. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden in recent weeks has started using a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine at night to help with sleep apnea, the White House said Wednesday. The revelation comes after indents from the mask were visible on the president’s face as he departed the White House.

The president has disclosed since 2008 a history with sleep apnea, a potentially serious but common condition in which breathing can stop and start in the night. Biden used the machine Tuesday night, White House officials said. The imprint lines on his face were apparent when he left Wednesday morning for a speech in Chicago.

A CPAP machine is a motorized device that pumps air through a mask to open a sleeper’s airway. About 5 million Americans have tried them.

While his history with the condition has long been disclosed, it didn’t come up during his most recent physical in February. When he was vice president, doctors noted Biden had an irregular heartbeat probably linked to apnea.

The 80-year-old president is running for reelection and is the oldest person ever to hold the nation’s highest office.

Roughly 30 million people in the U.S. are thought to have the condition, though only about 6 million are diagnosed with it, according to the American Medical Association. In people with the condition, throat and tongue muscles relax and block the airway during sleep, caused by obesity, aging or facial structure.

They stop breathing, sometimes for up to a minute and hundreds of times each night, then awake with loud gasping and snoring. That prevents them from getting deep, restorative sleep. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to dangerous drowsiness and increased heart attack risk. The problem is more common in men than women.

United States News

FILE - Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in March 2021,...

Associated Press

Expert ruling that Colorado supermarket shooting suspect is competent for trial set to be debated

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A hearing begins Wednesday to determine if the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 is mentally competent to stand trial. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 24, was found mentally competent by experts at the state mental hospital in August, but his defense attorney Kathryn Herold asked […]

28 minutes ago

FILE-Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks with Strider Technologies, an AI-powered strategic intelligen...

Associated Press

Race to replace Mitt Romney heats up as Republican Utah House speaker readies to enter

Republican Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson is poised to formally announce at a Wednesday night rally that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mitt Romney, who recently announced he won’t run for reelection. Romney announced earlier this month that he won’t seek a second term, saying younger people needed to […]

32 minutes ago

FILE - A map of a GOP proposal to redraw Alabama's congressional districts is displayed at the Alab...

Associated Press

In a win for Black voters in redistricting case, Alabama to get new congressional lines

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is headed to the first significant revamp of its congressional map in three decades after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s bid to keep using a plan with a single majority-Black district. The decision on Tuesday sets the stage for a new map with greater representation for Black voters […]

33 minutes ago

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Summerville, S.C., Monday, Sept. 25, 2023...

Associated Press

Trump heads to Michigan to compete with Biden for union votes while his GOP challengers debate

As his Republican rivals gather onstage in California for their second primary debate, former President Donald Trump will be in battleground Michigan Wednesday night working to win over blue-collar voters in the midst of an autoworkers’ strike. Trump’s trip comes a day after President Joe Biden became the first sitting president in U.S. history to […]

38 minutes ago

Associated Press

Over 100 masked teens ransack and loot Philadelphia stores leading to several arrests, police say

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Groups of teenagers swarmed into stores in Philadelphia’s Central City on Tuesday, stuffing plastic bags with merchandise and fleeing, although police made several arrests, authorities and witnesses said. An Apple Store was hit at around 8 p.m. and police chased fleeing teenagers, recovering dropped iPhones and a “pile of iPads” at one […]

1 hour ago

Follow @ktar923...

Sponsored Content by Schwartz Laser Eye Center

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

...

re:vitalize

When most diets fail, re:vitalize makes a difference that shows

Staying healthy and losing weight are things many people in Arizona are conscious of, especially during the summer.

...

Mayo Clinic

Game on! Expert sports physicals focused on you

With tryouts quickly approaching, now is the time for parents to schedule physicals for their student-athlete. The Arizona Interscholastic Association requires that all student-athletes must have a physical exam completed before participating in team practices or competition.

President Biden has started using a CPAP machine at night to deal with sleep apnea