DEAR DR. GOTT:
For the past two years I have experience a skipped heart beat. Sometimes it gets so bad that I will get a headache. I underwent an ultrasound after an EKG showed the defect, but the results were negative for any substantial blockage of arteries and valves.
The doctor said it could be some damaged tissue. A nurse told me it could be stress.
Right now I am 6’5” tall, weigh 400 pounds, 40 years old and haven‘t had a cigarette in three years. My vision is blurred during the time my heart skips. I’m on Clonidine, Verapamil and Simvastatin to control my blood pressure and my (sometimes) escalated heart rate.
DEAR READER:
I can only interpret you are referring to palpitations, irregular beats of the heart. Fortunately, the vast majority of individuals that experience the sensation do not suffer from any cardiac disease or abnormal heart rhythms. If this is not the case and your physician has told you otherwise, you should request a referral to a cardiologist and have a complete workup done.
In many instances, palpitations can be relieved by reducing stress, caffeine, alcohol, and discontinuing smoking. With that in mind, I must admit your weight is of concern to me. While you are quite tall, I would feel better if you could incorporate exercise or a weight-reduction program into your schedule. Perhaps your place of employment has a gym, or you have a community center in your area that will allow you to stop by after work.
If diet modifications are appropriate, a referral to the dietician at your local hospital or health care center might be just the ticket.
While you don’t mention stress, a coordinated program of exercise should relieve that and might even bring the palpitations under control.
I feel confident that if you can bring your weight down, your blood pressure will drop accordingly and you might be able to discontinue some or all of the medication you are on. While this might sound like a monumental task, you are a young man with a lot of hopefully healthful years ahead. Simple steps taken now might certainly head off bigger problems down the road. I recommend you try my no flour, no sugar diet since it is easy and inexpensive.
I also urge you, if you have not done so already, to limit your salt and fat intake. You do not say if you have a high cholesterol level but you are on a lowering drug. This may simply be precautionary for your abnormal heart rhythm. If, on the other hand, your cholesterol is high, reducing your fat intake could lead to a reduce or even discontinuation of the statin drug.
To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Reports “Hypertension”, “Understanding Cholesterol” and “A Strategy for Losing Weight: An Introduction to the No Flour, No Sugar Diet”. Other readers who would like copies should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 for each report to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title(s).
DEAR DR GOTT: This is pertaining to one of your recent columns where a lady suffered from halitosis and could not discern the cause. She mentioned she was a gum chewer.
In an attempt to stop smoking, I chewed gum all day and had exactly the same experience some years ago. I went to dentists and doctors to no avail. My family and colleagues at work learned to keep their distance. It was very embarrassing!
Eventually I discovered it was the aspartame in the chewing gum and many cups of coffee I devoured each day. Once I switched to another sweetener, the halitosis disappeared and has never returned.
I hope this helps the lady and any others suffering from this very embarrassing situation.
DEAR READER:
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in diet soft drinks, coffee, gums, sugar-free candies, and a host of other purposes. Some individuals can apparently include it within their regular diets and never be affected. In your case, you developed a mild but unwanted side effect from it. More severe cases, such as allergic reactions or perhaps from excessive use, are well documented. In any event, you were lucky to have found the source of your halitosis and took steps to correct the situation.
I am passing the information along through my column so others with a similar problem might be helped. Anyone who has suffered with halitosis and successfully treated it, please let me know what you have done. I will print a follow-up article with reader suggestions to pass on to others who suffer from this harmless but embarrassing problem. Thank you for sharing your experience.
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