Today I’m wearing my heart monitor (holter) for 24 hours, I’m
calling her my “little buddy” and am insisting she doesn’t slow me down. She didn’t like the swinging ride when I was
unloading the dishwasher, but now that I’ve tucked her under my shirt she’s
better.
 |
| Slowly but surely, saying good-bye to the image on the left. |
Since I’m preaching daily on heart health on my FB feed I
want you to know I’m not just talkin’ the talk, but I’m walkin’ the walk
too. At my annual physical I asked my
doctor if there were any reason to refer me to a cardiologist, I’d like to get
whatever testing I can. He said “sure,
your family history” and wrote my referral.
Both of my parents died from heart issues, my father at 69 years and my
mother at 83. One of my sisters has a
heart condition.
My first visit with the Cardiologist went well, she asked
detailed questions and listened to my concerns.
I also had an EKG (which is short for ELECTRO-CARDIO-GRAM). There was a
whiteboard in the exam room with the following written on it: Exercise 5x/week
for at least 30 minutes, reduce sugar, eat 5-7 servings of fruits & veggies
per day. I was proud to be able to point
to it and say “yeah, I’ve been doing that!”
Today was the big day! Before I continue – on the scale this
morning, I was down 0.6 which put me to 20.4 lbs. gone forever! Woo Hoo, didn’t
even mind skipping my coffee. Back to my
day: first I had an ECHO-CARDIO-GRAM which is an ultrasound of the heart. The tech showed me my 4 chambers and took
lots of measurements and photos. Next I
proceeded to my first ever Stress Test.
My beginning HR was 72 and BP was 118/76. I was left alone in the room and almost fell
asleep in the big, comfy chair. So I stood up and my BP cuff fell off – ugh. I did some stretching and waited patiently
for the tech and doctor to return. Since
I’ve been active, the test was EASY. She
kept the treadmill at a fast walking pace but increased the incline to add
stress. Once my heart was at 164 she
held me there for several minutes and then declined and decelerated. I was able
to talk through most of it and never felt out of breath.
After a cup of water and being told my readings were “pretty”
and I did very well, I was ushered into another room and fitted with the
holter. There are 4 leads on my chest
area and a crossbody bag to hold the monitor.
I’m about to go running (80% walking) and give my little buddy something
to record.
Overall I have felt just a little silly going to a
cardiologist while I’m healthy. But
- a.) she is confirming for me that what I’m doing is working and that I am healthy and
- b.) if I should develop a problem in the future, I’ll have a baseline for comparison.
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