I'm a 70-year-old woman,and last year when the weather was hot my ankles and feet swelled up. Since then the swelling has not gone down. I take blood pressure medicine,amlodipine,but I only started on this after the swelling began. Can you offer any advice?

Dr Ellie replies: Swelling is a worrying ailment and shouldn’t be ignored.

While it can happen after a long flight or in hot weather,this will usually subside. Swelling which continues for a long time can sometimes be a sign of heart failure – a dangerous condition where the heart pumps less efficiently than before.

It can also be a symptom of kidney or liver problems,as well as poor circulation.

However,one of the most common causes of swollen ankles is blood pressure medication such as amlodipine. While it is an effective drug for reducing blood pressure,this is a side-effect GPs see all the time.

Antonya Cooper who,after 40 years,last week admitted giving her terminally ill son a large dose of morphine to end his life

Is assisted dying the way we should go?

I was struck by the extraordinary story of Antonya Cooper who,last week admitted giving her terminally ill son a large dose of morphine to ‘quietly end his life’.

Hamish,just seven in 1981,had stage 4 cancer and,Mrs Cooper said,was ‘facing the most horrendous suffering’.

Now facing her own battle with terminal cancer,Mrs Cooper,from Oxfordshire,has chosen to speak about her decision just as campaigners are fighting to change the law on the issue.

Assisted dying – also known as euthanasia – is illegal in the UK,so Mrs Cooper,pictured above with Hamish,could be open to a police investigation. It’s an incredibly complex,emotional issue,but the dial on assisted dying is moving,with many more people – including our new Prime Minister – calling for a change in the law.

NHS