I’m worried a rapid pulse will tire my heart: DR MARTIN SCURR answers your health questions –

Since diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia [a fast heartbeat]My resting heart rate is 100-110 beats per minute. Does this fast heartbeat mean my heart is beating faster?

Marion Webley, Thornbury, Bristol.

The sudden onset of a rapid and abnormal heart rhythm called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), although relatively common at any age, is a concern.

It is caused by an irregularity in the electrical system of the heart muscle that normally causes the heart to beat between 60 and 100 beats per minute.

When this system malfunctions, the heart can suddenly beat very fast for several minutes or even hours before stopping.

Episodes, as you describe in your long letter, can recur and be caused by a number of factors, including anxiety, fatigue, too much caffeine or alcohol, certain prescription drugs, and even an overactive or underactive thyroid (which produces the hormone thyroxine). helps regulate heartbeat).

However, in the vast majority of SVT cases, an underlying cause is not identified. If it persists, it indicates an electrical anomaly that needs to be treated.

One option is beta blocker tablets (which lowers your heart rate) or cardiac ablation (a procedure you had in 2010). This is where erratic signals are blocked by targeting the area producing them with a heat-generating probe to destroy damaged tissue.

Although it worked, your resting heart rate is now high and you are anxious. However, I suspect it has to do with the inhaler you said you took for asthma.

Foster NEXThaler contains formoterol, which is both a steroid and a long-acting beta-2 agonist. Formoterol stimulates receptors in the smooth muscle cells of the airways, relaxing them and improving airflow. But the heart muscle also has similar receptors, and stimulating them increases the heart rate.

There is no need to be alarmed and your SVT is not dangerous; Also, because there is a risk of asthma attacks, you should not stop using your inhaler without first talking to your doctor.

In short, increased heart rate won’t damage your heart or shorten your life.

I’m on the waiting list for a knee replacement, but I’m afraid a fungal nail infection will jeopardize the success of the surgery. My surgeon didn’t mention this but since toenails take weeks to grow should I take medication or stick with over-the-counter products?

Name and address reserved.

A fungal infection of the toenails or fingernails known as onychomycosis is estimated to affect 8 percent of people. It causes discoloration of the nail, which thickens and may crack or crack.

Fungi are not the only cause of these infections, but they make up about 60% of them. The rest is usually caused by fungal infections such as candida.

These molds and yeasts are ubiquitous and very opportunistic. A minor injury to a nail or prolonged wet conditions (like what happens in sneakers) can be an ideal breeding ground. Nails are also somewhat unique in immunity, with less resistance to infection, but in otherwise healthy people, the fungi do not invade other tissues and there is no risk of the infection spreading.

I can assure you that nail infection is not a threat to your overall health and there is no risk of invasion that could compromise the effectiveness of joint replacement.

Antifungal tablets have potential side effects such as liver damage, so the risk of damage for an essentially cosmetic condition may be greater than any benefit of treatment.

Other treatments, such as nail polish applied weekly for six months, cure less than half of all cases, but you may decide they are worth a try.

write to scer

Write to Dr Scurr at Good Health, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email drmartin@dailymail.co.uk – include your contact details. Answers should be taken in a general context. Dr. Scurr cannot access personal correspondence. Always consult your doctor if you have any health problems.

I think… Vaping-related lung damage

Blurred vision and constipation are some of the rarer side effects of vaping that were reported to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority earlier this month. The most common are cough, sore throat and wheezing.

All of this seems relatively harmless, given the dangers of cigarette smoke, which contains 60 to 70 known carcinogens (carcinogenic chemicals). When e-cigarettes first arrived in 2005, they provided a surefire route for an almost instant nicotine attack in the brain to help smokers quit.

Most e-cigarettes still contain potentially toxic chemicals, but you won’t get the tar, carcinogens, and carbon monoxide from tobacco.

But there is some evidence that prolonged evaporation can lead to progressive lung disease with symptoms of shortness of breath, cough, and chest pain.

Lung tissue biopsies showed signs of a harmful condition known as constrictive bronchiolitis, or prolonged inflammation in the deep airways.

This is a form of harm unique to e-cigarettes and is a cause for concern. My usual advice: buyer beware.