President Biden underwent a physical Wednesday, and his doctor said the “most notable” change in the past year concerned the 81-year-old’s sleep apnea — a disorder associated with an increased risk of dementia.
Last year, Dr. Kevin O’Connor said Mr. Biden began using a positive airway pressure mask, which delivers pressurized air into the nose and mouth to make sure the sleep apnea sufferer has enough oxygen.
“We revisited the issue this past spring and conducted a formal sleep study,” Dr. O’Connor wrote in his summary. “This study confirmed my suspicion that the president would benefit from optimizing his sleep efficiency with PAP.”
Mr. Biden was first diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2008. The doctor’s notes indicate it could be getting worse.
More than 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, which can cause sufferers to choke and gasp dozens of times per hour as they sleep. As a person ages, the effects of the disorder often get worse.
A 2022 study found patients with sleep apnea have a 43% higher risk of developing any type of neurocognitive disorder, a 28% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 54% higher risk of Parkinson’s disease.
“People with sleep apnea who spend less time in deep sleep are more likely to have brain health problems that could lead to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or a stroke, a new study shows,” WebMD wrote in May, citing a Journal of Sleep Research probe published in the medical journal Neurology.
The study compared people with amyloid plaques in the brain, an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease. “We found that people with amyloid plaques who had more severe sleep apneas also were more likely to have lower volumes in the medial temporal lobe area of the brain, including the hippocampus, which plays a role in memory and Alzheimer’s disease,” lead author Geraldine Rauch wrote.
Researchers say the sleep apnea link with dementia is probably caused by the brain being starved of oxygen during sleep, which can damage blood vessels and lead to the development of plaque.
Dr. O’Connor noted that Mr. Biden had difficulty adjusting to the PAP mask. “This is reasonably anticipated and, in fact, should be expected. … But with trials of several different masks, we have been able to identify a couple of products which fit him very comfortably and effectively,” the doctor said.
In addition to sleep apnea, the physical revealed Mr. Biden suffers from an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation, which drastically raises the risk of stroke. The president has suffered from the condition since 2003, and Dr. O’Connor says he continues to take the blood thinner apixaban, brand name Eliquis, to treat the heart condition.
Heart arrhythmia can cause blood clots, which, if they break loose, can travel directly from the heart to the brain, causing a stroke. People who suffer from the disorder have a much greater risk of stroke.
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