Former President George H. W. Bush remains hospitalized with pneumonia, a particularly deadly threat for those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a top expert says.
"People like George Bush who have Parkinson’s disease are more likely to develop 'aspiration pneumonia,' " Dr. Marc Leavey tells Newsmax Health.
Bush, 92, was hospitalized over the weekend in Texas Methodist Hospital with shortness of breath. He was diagnosed on Wednesday with pneumonia and underwent a procedure to clear his airway.
He is now reported in "stable" condition and is said to be resting comfortably in the intensive care unit, news reports say.
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that is caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. The disease causes more than 50,000 deaths a year and is the nation’s eighth biggest killer.
Leavey has never treated Bush, but he speculates that former president may have a form of the disease known as "aspiration pneumonia."
Bush is known to suffer from vascular Parkinsonism, a rare ailment that mimics Parkinson's disease.
Aspiration pneumonia occurs when food, saliva, liquids, or vomit are breathed into the lungs or airways leading to the lungs, instead of being swallowed into the esophagus and stomach.
“Parkinson’s disease is ... a movement disorder, which makes aspiration pneumonia more likely,” adds Leavey, an internist with Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.
Many people with Parkinson’s disease have difficulty swallowing because they lose control of their mouth and throat muscles. As a result, chewing and swallowing food becomes difficult.
This is also true of secretions, such as saliva and sputum, says Leavey.
“Because of this inability to handle ones own secretions, people with Parkinson’s disease may literally breathe in their saliva or sputum and it goes back into the lungs and lodges there,” says Leavey.
“Since this material is not sterile...it deposits bacteria, which sets up shop and a rip-roaring infection can result that can be fatal. When this happens to people who are healthy, they can simply cough it up, but people with Parkinson’s disease have lost the ability to do this.”
The pneumonia vaccine that federal health officials recommend for seniors does not protect against aspiration pneumonia, but there are ways to help prevent people from developing it, says Leavey. Among them:
- An older person who coughs a lot after eating should be checked by a doctor for swallowing difficulties.
- Changing the consistence of the food can make it easier to swallow.
- Positioning people properly so that they can swallow more easily can help.
- A speech therapist can teach people with such disorders effective techniques that can help them swallow better.