After a bowel movement I get very weak and have to lie down, and sometimes fall asleep. It takes me several hours to get back to normal. Why would this happen?

I check my own blood pressure. Until recently, my blood pressure stayed around 135/75. About two weeks ago, it suddenly shot up to 188/90. My doctor increased the doses of my blood pressure pills. But my systolic pressure is still around 170. Why would my blood pressure have increased so suddenly when I hadn’t really changed anything? Is 170 systolic okay given my diastolic pressure is 80?

My 71-year-old father began taking Coumadin after a pulmonary embolism a few years ago. Not too long after, he began having more confusion. After going to many more doctors and getting more medicine for dementia and depression — that also cause confusion — there is no definite diagnosis. In fact, he’s getting worse. Is it possible that the Coumadin is causing this?

My wife has shortness of breath and sweats when she walks fast or gets anxious. Because she doesn’t get chest pain, she doesn’t think it’s her heart. I urged her to get a stress test but she says her doctor told her that the treadmill test isn’t good at diagnosing heart trouble in women. Is this the case? Thanks to the treadmill test, I avoided a heart attack. Now I want the same thing for my wife.

I am a runner. I have bruising on my legs after running. This only happens when I am racing, not during my everyday runs. Could this be caused by poor circulation? I've been running for 10 years and I’ve never experienced this until a few months ago.

My 81-year-old husband has been diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm that’s 4.8 centimeters wide. His doctors say there’s a magic number at which surgery is done, but I’m questioning why they can’t do something sooner. My husband is generally in good health, so he shouldn’t be a poor candidate for surgery.

I’m 72. My doctor told me my heart is growing. He says there is no cure. Do you know of anything to reverse or slow down the growing heart?

I get mail promoting the great benefits of chelation therapy. The claim is that it removes calcium and other metals from the walls of arteries. The key element appears to be EDTA, a type of acetic acid. Since vinegar is also primarily acetic acid, could it have the same effect?

When I visit my doctor, my readings are always high at first. The doctor has me relax for about 10 minutes and the repeat is at the top of normal (140/90 or close to it). Do I have hypertension that needs to be treated? Should I be checking my blood pressure at home?

At 78 years old, I am in pretty good shape. A couple of years ago, an echocardiogram showed a small leak in my mitral valve. A year later, a follow-up test showed some leakage in my tricuspid valve. The valves aren’t causing me any problems right now, but how will I know if they need to be repaired? I like to exercise, but don’t want to make these valve problems worse. Is it okay for me to walk on a treadmill at a speed of 3 to 4 miles an hour and lift light weights?

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