Q A right-handed friend tells me, a left-hander, that on average left-handed people tend to die at a younger age than righties'. Is this true?

A Some friend! No it isn't. The suggestion was made in 1992 when a one-off survey of more than a million people aged from ten to the late eighties concluded that there were more left-handers in the young than among the old. That was supposed to show that a substantially greater number of the lefties' had died early. Then someone looked at handedness in English documentaries filmed around the beginning of the twentieth century. They included crowds waving at the camera - and the researchers assumed that the hand they waved was the dominant one. It turned out that there were already, in young adults in the films, fewer lefties than expected, and than in a modern group of similar people. Many of the leftie' older generation in the 1992 study had been forced when small children to use their right hands - which explained the discrepancy later. Of course that didn't apply to the younger 1992 subjects. Take away that bias, and you don't need to worry about not living as long as your friend.

Q At a routine health check I was told my blood pressure is high. It has always been normal until now. My doctor has arranged for a nurse to take it at home, and for me to have it monitored over 24 hours. Is all this needed? Why doesn't he just give me treatment for it?

A First, some people's blood pressure rises simply in the surgery, but is normal at home. In that case you may not need treatment. Secondly, it's often important to see if the blood pressure drops during sleep. If it doesn't that has implications for your long term risk of strokes or heart attacks. Thirdly, the measurements will give your doctor a good set of baseline readings on which to decide on the drug to use and at what dose. So your doctor is following the correct guidelines.

Q What's the best time to eat Christmas dinner - lunchtime or in the evening?

A Definitely around midday, so that you can get out and about for a brisk walk afterwards. Slumping in a chair after a big evening meal and drinks raises massively your risk of stroke and heart attack in the wee small hours. In England the night shift after Christmas Day is traditionally the busiest of the year in emergency cardiovascular units. The same goes for New Year's morning in Scotland. All sorts of risks combine if you eat late and succumb, inert, to an alcohol-sodden brain. Your blood pressure and viscosity rise along with a spectacular rise in blood fats (for the technical, low density cholesterol and triglycerides) and in the clot-promoting protein prothrombin. If you smoke that Christmas cigar you raise your risk prodigiously. Enjoying your main meal at lunchtime then being physically active afterwards lowers the risk to a minimum. So give your local medical, nursing, ambulance and other emergency staff a break this Christmas - they would like a happy Christmas, too. I speak as one who was on duty over Christmas for many years.