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What causes my heart rate to drop? DR MARTIN SCURR answers your health questions

I am 75 and extremely fit – I enjoy cycling, weight lifting, spinning and walking. My resting heart rate averaged around 46-48bpm, but since my third Covid vaccination it has dropped to 39-43bpm. The same happened to my wife and my youngest son (40 years old). My family doctor says she does not know such symptoms from the vaccination.

Paul Mackintosh, Darlington.

A low resting heart rate – classified as anything below 60 bpm (beats per minute) – is not necessarily a bad thing and can be a sign of physical fitness.

A low heart rate, also called sinus bradycardia, is a natural phenomenon in some people and is a sign that the impulses coming from the sinus node (the stimulating part of the heart) are below the normal range of 60 to 100 beats is. a minute

However, other factors can also have an influence. Your resting heart rate drops as you age—and in your case, that may be a contributing factor.

A low heart rate is not usually considered a medical problem unless it is accompanied by symptoms such as fainting, which can occur when your heart rate is too slow to pump enough blood around your body.

Paul Makintosh from Darlington writes: “My resting heart rate averaged around 46 to 48 beats per minute. However, since my third Covid shot it has dropped to 39-43 beats per minute.”

I had a patient with a similar medical history to yours whom I referred for an annual EKG – a test to check heart rhythm and electrical activity. Each year his resting heart rate dropped, eventually reaching 32 beats per minute, and I referred him to a cardiologist who placed him on a pacemaker to prevent his heart rate from dropping further. I’m happy to report that it never happened.

Whether the drop in your resting heart rate is related to the Covid vaccination, I checked the medical literature and no bradycardia is mentioned as a complication. I have also spoken to colleagues and there is evidence that Covid infection is linked to changes in the nervous system that controls heart rate.

Although the cause may be coincidental in your family’s case, I think it’s worth discussing an annual EKG with your GP so that the three of you can check your heart rate.

I have been waiting two years now for an operation to smooth my manhood. I was told the process could take another two years. My wife understands this, but the curvature of my penis makes sex impossible and the situation affects my mental health. can you help

given name and address.

It may not have been easy for you to write about this alarming condition, but I can assure you that you are far from alone.

MY OPINION… IT SHOULD NOT JUST WHAT YOU EAT – WHEN IT IS NECESSARY

I’m always looking for new advice for patients trying to lose weight, so I was intrigued by the recent research on time-restricted eating.

It was published in JAMA International Medicine and showed that obese adults who ate only between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. lost more weight than those who ate the same amount of food but spread it out throughout the day.

Our body’s circadian rhythms affect so many elements of our health. I remember learning as a medical student that levels of the hormone cortisol – known as the stress hormone, which also helps us stay awake – are at their lowest at 4 a.m., which is why people are more likely to die in the darkest hour before dawn. if you feel weak due to low cortisol levels (levels rise quickly).

The metabolism also seems to have a natural rhythm. So if you want to lose weight, the maxim should be: It’s not just about what you eat, but when you eat it.

About 5 percent of middle-aged men suffer from it. Not only does this make sex difficult, but it can also be painful.

In your condition, called Peyronie’s disease, scar tissue forms in the fibrous sheath that covers the spongy erectile tissue in the center of the penis.

The scar tissue pulls on the surrounding area, giving the penis a pronounced curve when erect.

Understandably, this can have a big impact. One study found that 81 percent of affected men reported emotional problems and 54 percent had relationship problems.

One treatment option is a vacuum device that can help straighten the penis. Another is an injection of the enzyme collagenase called Xiapex, which softens or completely removes the scar tissue (although this is not available on the NHS).

In severe cases, surgery is the gold standard of treatment.

Scar tissue is removed and a penile straightening device is implanted.

In general, the success rates of the surgery are good: A study with 61 patients showed that 86 percent were able to become sexually active again.

The biggest problem I foresee is the surgery on the NHS. Since the condition is neither cancerous nor life-threatening, I’m afraid you will have to wait a long time.

Depending on your financial circumstances, it may be worth going into the private sector. Given your understandable needs, it is a tragedy for you and millions of other patients that given the current state of our NHS, paying for private care may be the easiest solution for you.

Write to Dr. scramble

Write to Dr. Scurr at Good Health, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email drmartin@dailymail. co.uk – add your contact details. DR Scurr cannot respond to personal correspondence. Answers should be taken in a general context and always consult your GP if you have any health concerns.

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