DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column regarding asymptomatic atrial fibrillation. How does this differ from having a heart murmur? I have had a murmur for about 25 years, though it was not fully diagnosed until three years ago during an unrelated emergency room visit. Until recently, the murmurs were getting worse. Other than […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Three years ago, I turned 60 and received my first dose of Shingrix. I had a highly unpleasant reaction, with fever and flulike symptoms. I did not return for the second dose until last week, so although I have had two doses, they are three years apart. Do I need to get […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have COPD, and my doctor explains that the trouble is that my lungs do not expel the full amount of the breath I take in. This prevents the full oxygen intake from my breath. My question is, Do commercial oxygen generators serve any purpose if the full amount of oxygen supplied […]

DR. ROACH WRITES: I have written many columns on COVID-19, which has become a major cause of death and disability in all of North America and the world. I have consistently recommended the available vaccines, and tried to identify their (modest) risks and (dramatic) effectiveness. Recently, I have received many letters so full of misinformation […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 86-year-old woman, and my sister is 91. We are both in good health, with normal health issues for people our age. My question is that we both have contracts with crematory companies, but we also intend to be organ donors. Will they really use organs from people our age? […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 77-year-old woman. I have had problems with insomnia for at least 50 years, but it is much worse now. Some nights I don’t sleep, and some nights I get maybe three or four hours. My primary doctor will prescribe only certain meds and will not prescribe meds I took […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am interested in your perspective on intermittent fasting. I am in a walking group of seniors (all 65+ years). Six of us have been on this diet for six to eight weeks, and everyone has consistently lost a pound a week. There is a lot of debate about how it works. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Please help me understand the connection between the use of baby powder or talcum powder and ovarian cancer. I can’t grasp how a product that is applied externally can migrate to the ovaries and cause cancer. — K.M. ANSWER: Talcum powder, in its raw form, contains small amounts of asbestos, which is […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: On Nov. 2, 2020, I had a total right hip replacement. The surgery was successful, and the incision has healed completely. X-rays on the day of the surgery are clear. However, X-rays in April this year show something the surgeon called heterotopic ossification. It feels as if there is something large growing […]