Medical

Letter from Mr R to the GP dated September 16:

I saw Lord Avebury today in my clinic. Since you have started his Furosemide, his symptoms of dyspnoea have marginally improved. The chest X-ray performed last week showed that his has got bilateral mild pleural effusion. However, his haemoglobin came back as 9.2, which is an improvement from the 8.5 previously. His CRP and his white cell count are normal, which does exclude any deep-seated infection. He is generally still feeling a bit weak and his blood pressure is
still unstable.

I will be writing to my colleague, Phil MacCarthy, Consultant Cardiologist, asking if he would be kind enough to see Lord Avebury for a cardiology opinion to see how we can improve his cardiac status, which I hope will give him a bit more energy during this recovery phase. I am planning to see him again in my clinic in four weeks' time and I will keep you informed of his progress.

I do feel tired, and I get claudication in my left leg walking at a normal pace. Angioplasty would probably help.