Rapid pulse due to male menopause

Dear Dr. Gott: My husband, 68, is in good health except for blood pressure that ranges all over the lot, as high as 140/100 to as low as 120/80. He is taking medicine for this.

What concerns us most is his pulse, which varies from 75 to 100. Also, he has hot flashes.

Dear Reader: Varying blood pressures are common in most adults, depending on stress level, diets rich in salt and other factors. As a general rule, if the blood pressure is found to be normal (130/80 or below), no one has to worry about the occasional level above normal.

In contrast, most hypertensive patients regularly run BPs of 150/90 or greater. This needs to be addressed, depending on the height of the pressure and the consistency of the high readings.

From the data you share, I can conclude that your husband’s blood pressure is under reasonably good control and you can relax, continue his medication and follow his physician’s advice.

The tendency to a rapid pulse may be secondary to male menopause (see below), stress, inactivity with loss of physical conditioning, heart disorders, anemia and other factors. I suggest that you record his pulse and blood pressure daily (at different times of the day) and then submit the numbers to his doctor for advice and recommendations.

Male menopause is real, common, unavoidable, and marked by hot flashes and sweats, malaise, rapid heartbeat and many other symptoms. Treatment is “watchful waiting.” Under ordinary circumstances, the symptoms of male menopause (which are the result of a testosterone deficiency) will dissipate with age and require no therapy.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Hypertension.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am 71 years old and in good health except for an asthma problem that is well controlled with inhalers. About one month ago, while I was sitting in church, I looked up at the candles burning by the altar, and the flame on the top candle looked green. I looked up at it several times, and each time the top one was green. A few nights later while reading the paper, I suddenly realized that the entire page looked green.

I checked with my doctor, and he had never heard of anything like that, so he sent me to have an MRI. It didn’t show any abnormalities, so he said if it happens again he will have to send me to a neurologist.

Dear Reader: While this symptom is rare, it is part of the visual difficulties ordinarily handled by ophthalmologists. I suggest a consultation now. The symptom could reflect a retinal problem.