Joe Biden sleeps in an air mask due to sleep apnea

Joe Biden speaks to reporters on Wednesday with CPAP belt marks visible on his cheek. Photo: AP

Joe Biden began sleeping in an air mask due to sleep apnea.

80-year-old Biden uses a CPAP machine, a motorized medical device that prevents interruptions in breathing at night.

CPAP stands for «constant positive airway pressure» and the machine pumps air through a tube into a mask attached to the wearer's nose.

Air pressure keeps their airways open.

Horizontal dents from mask straps were visible on both sides of Mr. Biden's face as he left the White House to give an economic speech in Chicago on Wednesday.

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Deputy spokesman Andrew Bates said Mr. Biden has «revealed his history of sleep apnea in detailed medical records» since 2008.

Mr. Bates said: «Yesterday in the evening he used a CPAP machine, which is common for people with this story.”

Sleep apnea is a common but potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing can stop and resume at night.

If left untreated, it can cause symptoms such as forgetfulness and fatigue. and drowsiness.

According to research, this can eventually lead to cardiovascular disease due to the significant workload on the heart.

Age is one of several factors that increase the risk of developing sleep apnea.

In people with this disease, the muscles of the throat and tongue relax and block the airways during sleep.

The risk is as follows. increases due to obesity, aging, or facial structure.

1304 Biden is the oldest person to ever be a US president.

Sufferers stop breathing for a minute and up to a hundred times a night, and then wake up gasping and snoring. .

This condition prevents deep restorative sleep.

As the oldest president to run for re-election in 2024, Mr. Biden's health is under constant surveillance.

Poll shows most Americans are concerned about his age.

In February, Mr. Biden's doctor declared him «fit for service» after a medical examination.

The doctor's report did not mention sleep apnea , but said that his «sinus symptoms improved after several sinus and nasal passage surgeries.»

When he was vice president, doctors noted that Biden had an irregular heartbeat, likely related to sleep apnea.