‘Jumping heart’ doesn’t respond to meds

Dear Dr. Gott: My heart jumps. My doctor gave me some pills that don’t help much.

Do you have any suggestions?

Dear Reader: A “jumping heart” should not be ignored. While the symptom could reflect an entirely innocuous situation, it could be a warning of a serious cardiac problem.

You don’t indicate what testing your doctor performed. You need a cardiogram, an event monitor, possibly a stress test, and blood tests to rule out anemia or an overactive thyroid gland and other medical conditions.

Also, you don’t indicate what the prescribed medicine was. If, despite therapy, your heartbeats are still prominent, you should be referred to a cardiologist – perhaps the very doctor who tested you in the first place.

I’m sorry I cannot help you further, but I don’t have enough information to make a valid diagnosis. Check back with your primary care physician/cardiologist for further information, explanation and alteration of your medication.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my health report “Coronary Artery Disease.” 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. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: My friend and I are having an ongoing discussion concerning how we catch a cold.

I believe that the only way to get a cold is by being exposed to a germ. While my friend agrees that germs can cause colds, she also believes that you can “catch a chill” that will also result in a cold.

When you catch a chill, you often know instantly that you can expect cold symptoms.

Please settle this once and for all. Thank you.

Dear Reader: Unfortunately, there is little in life that can be settled once and for all.

A cold is an upper-respiratory infection caused by a virus. Symptoms last for seven days if the infection is treated, one week if it isn’t. (Yes, that’s right.)

People do not get colds from being chilled. However, it is possible (but yet unproven) that temperature alterations may harm the immune system, leading to a susceptibility to certain upper-respiratory viral infections.

However, being “chilled” is not, in and of itself, a cause of colds.

Once a person has been exposed to the cold virus, he or she can engage in preventive behavior: Get more sleep, stay warm, increase fluid intake and stop smoking.

Please discover other issues for you and your friend to disagree about. Medical topics do not ordinarily provide black-and-white solutions, as much as we might wish they would.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my health report “Viruses and Cancer.” 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. Be sure to mention the title.