DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am an 85-year-old man suffering from critical aortic stenosis. I am too old for heart surgery.

My cardiologist has made me aware of a less-demanding procedure done at a New York hospital. Will you describe this procedure? – N.C.

ANSWER: The heart pumps blood into the aorta – the body’s largest artery – for circulation to all other body arteries. The aortic valve closes after blood is pumped out, to prevent any blood flow back into the heart.

Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of that valve. A narrow aortic valve puts a great burden on the heart: It has to pump much harder than normal to eject blood through the tight valve. Fainting, shortness of breath and chest pain when active are three signs that the valve is critically narrowed.

The only cure for this condition is surgical correction. Age is not a contraindication to surgery. People in their 80s are accepted for surgery if their health allows them to deal with the rigors of a heart operation.I don’t know what the New York hospital’s procedure is, but I do know there are alternatives to surgery.

One is enlarging the valve by inflating a balloon that has been passed to the valve through a surface blood vessel. Another procedure currently undergoing investigation involves actual replacement of the valve in a manner similar to the balloon dilation method.

If invasive intervention isn’t possible, medicines can relieve symptoms even though they don’t fix the valve.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter works at a computer for 10 hours every day. Her legs swell badly. I recommended she get a leg massage. What do you recommend? – S.S.

ANSWER: I recommend that she first find out why her legs are swelling. It might be nothing more than dependent edema. “Edema” is the medical word for swelling.

This kind of swelling comes about when the legs are dangling down for hours and hours. Gravity pulls fluid from blood into the tissues of the feet, ankles and legs.

If your daughter will take a short walk every 30 minutes, she can prevent this from happening.

And when she’s seated in front of her computer, she should frequently tense and relax the muscles of her legs to pump blood out of the legs. If it’s possible, lying down and elevating the legs above heart level can drain fluid. Compression stockings keep fluid from oozing out of vessels. And the massage idea is a good one.

More-serious causes of leg swelling have to be investigated. Varicose veins with defective vein valves can lead to blood pooling in the veins and swelling. Medicines like Procardia and Calan cause some people to develop edema.

Liver and kidney disease are two other problems that should be considered. In older people, heart failure is a prominent cause of such swelling.

The pamphlet on edema and lymphedema (a special kind of swelling fluid) explains these conditions and what to do for them.

Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue – No. 106, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My 12-year-old daughter tested positive for tuberculosis. The illness is dormant, but she has to take medicine for nine months. I am confused. I assumed that medication would cure the disease. Now I understand that the illness could turn into full-blown TB. Please explain. – P.F.

ANSWER: The medicine your daughter is taking kills the TB germ that is asleep (dormant) in her body. The reason for taking the medicine is to prevent the germ from ever wakening later in life.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a friend who drops off into a sound sleep when we are talking or when she watches TV. I worry if this could happen when she’s driving. What are your thoughts? – D.S.

ANSWER: Your friend should tell her doctor about her sleeping spells. She might have the illness called narcolepsy, and it can be a hazard to her and to the public when she drives.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com

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