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Medical therapy is called for with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a physically active 75-year-old man. I’m taking atorvastatin, losartan and amlodipine. During my annual physical in January 2025, my physician noticed a heart murmur. I had an echocardiogram done in February 2025 that showed a dilated proximal ascending aorta, measuring at 4.1 centimeters. It was 3.9 centimeters in January 2024. In February 2026, I had a repeat echocardigoram to check my ascending aorta, and it stabilized at 4.1 cm. However, it showed that there’s a mid-cavitary gradient of 44 mmHg at rest that increased to 99 mmHg with a Valsalva maneuver. ...

Intense heaviness in chest snowballs into traumatic experience

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I had a very unpleasant experience a few days ago, and I’d like your opinion. I am 90 years old and was awakened early in the morning with an extreme heaviness in my chest. I have a concierge physician, and they told me that if I was able to drive, I should come right over to the office, where I had my blood pressure taken, as well as an electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood work done. I did this, and I was then told to go home and wait to find out if I’d had a heart attack (as markers in the blood would confirm). As I was leaving the office, the doctor gave me a ...

Columns

This summer, I had the opportunity to intern with Clinton County Commissioner, Angela Harding through the PA CareerLink program, “Bridges to the Future.” This is an experience I’d recommend to anyone looking to gain real-world experience, learn new skills, and yes, even earn a little extra cash along the way. CareerLink offers countless opportunities for young people to grow into productive, capable workers, and I’m grateful I got to be part of it. As an intern with county government, I was able to pursue one of my passions: video production and editing. Over the course ...

A foreseeable and dire munitions crisis

Columns

During the 1979-1980 hostage crisis, a defiant Iran starkly demonstrated the limits of American power. Forty-five years later, it is doing the same thing, although in vastly different circumstances. Back then, when the post-Vietnam military was at a low ebb, we didn’t strike Iran, and a long-shot rescue operation ended in abject failure. Now, with the U.S. military at its most proficient and professional in history, we have inflicted punishing blows against the regime but still haven’t been able to impose our will, in part because we are running low on the munitions ...

Dear Annie: Couple indecisive over interfaith marriage

Columns

Dear Annie: I am Jewish and have been dating a wonderful Catholic man for almost two years. We love each other and have started talking seriously about marriage. Until recently, our different religions did not seem like a problem. We respected each other’s traditions, celebrated holidays with both families and never pressured one another to change. Now that marriage and children are becoming real possibilities, the differences feel much bigger. I want to raise my future children Jewish and give them the same traditions and sense of identity that shaped me. My boyfriend wants them ...

As our children head back to school, teachers need our support

Columns

For the past several years, I have enjoyed viewing friends’ photos on Facebook of their children heading back to school. Many now have children in college, while some still have kids in high school. My friends often post their kindergarten or elementary school pictures next to the current photos to proudly show how much their children have grown. I can tell by the half grins on some of my friends’ kids’ faces that they were probably thinking, “Mom, whyyyy do you post these pictures of me every year?” I always find these reactions amusing, but I believe that when they are ...