I’m suffering heart palpitations that feel like chest flutters and a shortness of breath – should I be worried?

SCREENING checks are one of the best ways to detect cancer in its earliest stages, when treatment is more likely to be successful, or even before cancer develops in the case of cervical screening.

So I was concerned to hear that more than five million women are not up to date with their cervical screening. Only 68.8 per cent of people aged 25-64 were screened within the recommended time period, the NHS said in its annual report.

It’s not just cervical screening.

Only two thirds of people take up their invitation for bowel or breast cancer screening, the most recent stats show.

Tests to detect abdominal aortic aneurysm are also offered to men when they turn 65.

It’s a busy time of year, but I would urge readers not to delay their next screening until the New Year.

If you are due, at least call the GP now to get it booked in for the next available date you are free.

Here’s a selection of what readers have asked me this week . . . 

Q) I SUFFER from fibromyalgia, and palpitations are one of the many symptoms.

However, I’ve been getting them every day.

It feels like flutters.

I also have shortness of breath.

There’s heart disease in my family.

My mum had Stokes-Adams syndrome and my brother has a second-degree blockage.

I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about but I just wanted some advice.

A) Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition which predominantly causes chronic pain, but can have a host of other associated symptoms, including palpitations.

However, it’s not a good idea to assume your symptoms are caused by fibro­myalgia.

This could prevent you from seeking the proper medical advice when they could be caused by other conditions or abnormalities.

Given your family history, something like palpitations should certainly be properly investigated.

Your GP will be able to take a full history and decide whether it would be useful to get a 24-hour Holter ECG, where a monitor is worn for 24 hours and continuously looks at the activity of the heart to see what is happening at the time that you have the palpitations.

As you say they are every day, a 24-hour monitor may be sufficient.

Sometimes people require a ­seven-day monitor to make sure they catch one of the episodes to see what’s happening with the heart.

Depending on what is found, you might require further investigations, or your GP may be able to advise as to how you can best manage your symptoms.

Stokes-Adams can tend to run in families and affect people when they are older, as it has a link with ­coronary heart disease and causes collapse without warning.

Have you had any episodes where you’ve lost consciousness?

You also mentioned the shortness of breath.

Does this tend to be associated with the runs of palpitations?

If so, it would increase the likelihood of there actually being some abnormality of the heart rhythm at the time when you have the symptoms.

So, in short, please do not assume that symptoms are linked to fibromyalgia.

Any concerning symptoms must be investigated properly.

What’s triggering me

Q) FOR the past six months, or more, I have had allergic symptoms including itchy eyes, sneezing, and a continuous runny nose.

I went to my GP’s, but could only see a nurse practitioner who told me to consult an optician.

The optician suggested over-the-counter eye drops, which haven’t worked.

When my symptoms are really bad, I take an antihistamine tablet.

It works, but I don’t want to be a slave to them forever.

I am a 72-year-old man.

My wife thinks our cat is causing this, but we’ve had her for more than seven years.

Woolly clothing seems to start it off.

Can you become allergic to stuff late in life?

A) The short answer is yes, you ­absolutely can become allergic to things later in life, including animals.

While it certainly is possible, it would be less likely for you to become allergic to your own cat if you have been continuously exposed to it over the years.

It would be worth keeping a diary of when your symptoms flare to help ascertain the potential allergens.

For example, people can develop symptoms to alcohol which most ­typically would be nasal problems, sneezing and coughing.

Wool, or more specifically lanolin, a fatty substance found on sheep’s fleeces, is a well-known allergen but usually causes rashes or other skin symptoms.

It could also be hay fever, which in the winter months tends to be an allergy to weed or mould.

Do you have any new plants in the garden or in the house?

Are there any decaying plants and ­vegetation?

Have you moved house?

It’s also possible to become sensitive to pollution, whether that be from outside or inside the home – things like candles or cleaning supplies.

So it might be worth taking measures to reduce pollution, such as using an air purifier.

It’s good to know that an antihistamine is effective, because that strongly suggests this is an allergy.

The next step – if you want to stop using antihistamines – would be allergy testing.

It can be difficult to get an NHS referral, especially if antihistamines work.

I would suggest trying a steroid nasal spray, which you can get from the pharmacy, as all of your symptoms could be helped by this.

But give it at least four weeks of proper use before deciding if it is ­effective or not – they can take this long to take full effect.

I had sciatica, now toe keeps tingling

Q) I HAD sciatica in the bottom left part of my back in March.

It was painful and travelled down my leg and lasted around eight weeks.

Through exercise, I began to feel ­better.

But in May, I began to suffer what is best described as non-painful tingling or pins and needles in my second toe.

Although it eases for weeks, it always returns.

I’m a 72-year-old man and during the summer I was diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes but have managed to almost eradicate it with diet and GP help.

 A) Sciatica is a common problem.

It’s a term used to describe nerve pain in the leg that is caused by a problem in the lower back.

The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that starts in the lower back and travels down the back of each leg.

If the nerve is irritated, it can cause pain in the lower back, buttock, thigh, calf or foot.

In most cases, it fortunately resolves over four to six weeks with simple ­measures, including exercise.

Regarding the pins and needles in your middle toe – yes, this may be linked to the sciatica.

Sciatica that originates from an issue at the S1 nerve root (this is a particular level in the spine) can cause altered sensation to the three outermost toes.

It can also make it difficult to walk on tiptoes, have you had this?

However, there are also a number of other causes, including your type 2 diabetes.

Pins and needles could indicate there is some damage to or pressure being put on a peripheral nerve, and type 2 diabetes is one of the most common causes of peripheral nerve damage.

Peripheral neuropathy is when nerves at the ends of the body – the hands and feet – are damaged.

It’s great to hear that your type 2 diabetes is well managed with some medication and lifestyle changes, though further improvements can always be made.

You need to act now to save yourself from festive flu

IT’S your last chance to get a flu jab to protect yourself and loved ones at Christmas.

It takes two weeks for the vaccine to work, according to the NHS – which also says it is “bracing for a challenging winter”.

A “quad-demic” of infections on the rise includes flu, Covid, norovirus and RSV – respiratory syncytial virus.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said: “Flu cases are skyrocketing, so it’s now or never for older people and children to get themselves jabbed and protected ahead of any family get-togethers they have planned over the festive period.

“The flu vaccine is our best defence against winter viruses, and it also helps to reduce pressure on hospitals and hard-working NHS staff, who will be working flat out over the Christmas break.

“I’d urge anyone who’s eligible to add booking their flu jab to their list of things to do in the run-up to Christmas so they can protect themselves and their families this December.”

You can get the free NHS flu vaccine if you are aged 65 or over, or at higher risk of serious illness, such as if you are pregnant, have a long-standing heath condition or live with someone who does.

The number of people in hospital with flu is four times higher than this time last year, according to figures for the NHS in England.

An average of 1,099 flu patients were in hospital beds each day in the week to December 1, including 39 in critical care.

Cases of flu are highest among those aged five to 14.

Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, told BBC Breakfast: “We’ve seen a real rise in, a spike in, the number of children who are suffering from flu in particular, and often that’s a predictor of a later wave coming in adults.

“So it’s likely that we might see rising demand in adults down the line.

“So yes, we are bracing ourselves, I think, for a challenging winter.”

If you’re eligible for an NHS flu jab, you can call your GP surgery.

Alternatively, book a pharmacy appointment on the NHS website or via the NHS app, or ask your pharmacy if it is offering them.

Until December 19, you can call the 119 service free to book a vaccine at a pharmacy.

You qualify for a free flu vaccine if any of these apply to you…

• You were born before April 1, 1960
• You live in a care home
• You are the main carer for an older or disabled person, or receive carer’s allowance
• Someone you live with has a weakened immune system
• You have certain health conditions
• You are pregnant