heart

[tball]

I am going tomorrow to meet with my Cardiologist. Let's see what he's got in store for me now. I am going to push for a reprieve. They are going to make me start working out in their gym - they won't be impressed by my efforts. Maybe an open mind would help. I am getting tired of all these new meds and the procedures and all of the disruption it causes to my fun.

How did it go yesterday?

As a recent cardiac rehabilitation graduate, I strongly encourage anyone to do a cardiac rehab program if they have the opportunity. It's fantastic to have trained therapists guide you in improving your fitness after a cardiac event or procedure and to push your limits in a monitored and safe environment.

No worries about your current fitness level. As a skier, I guarantee you'll be in better shape than almost everyone else in your cardiac rehab class.

 

[Prosper]

But the cardiologist said it's much more accurate. Gold standard.

The gold standard to assess for coronary artery disease is cardiac catheterization. IIRC, chemical stress w/ nuclear scan is most sensitive but least specific of the cardiac stress tests.

 

[Jerez]

Right you are. I should have said stress test. The stress test led to the cath lab. But that is invasive and not done before another test or symptoms indicate it is needed.

 

[crgildart]

Happy for @tball 's good report. They're not super worried about artery disease or blockages because my blood pressure is always pretty good. That said my father had to have hos corotated arteries scoped when he was about 10 years older than I am now.... That also fits my symptoms of occasional light headedness under exertion situations.. Maybe the rest of me, heart and all is OK but brain not getting as much as it should?

Lung x-rays came back clear... good to know post COVID...and as an ex smoker..

I did notice that they said no food 3 hours before the ECHO STRESS.. I guess they don't want me puking on them hahahahaha! and of course to get tired more easily on an empty stomach..

 

[no edge]

How did it go yesterday?

As a recent cardiac rehabilitation graduate, I strongly encourage anyone to do a cardiac rehab program if they have the opportunity. It's fantastic to have trained therapists guide you in improving your fitness after a cardiac event or procedure and to push your limits in a monitored and safe environment.

No worries about your current fitness level. As a skier, I guarantee you'll be in better shape than almost everyone else in your cardiac rehab class.

It was low key and up beat. They backed away from fitness therapy. They are leaving me on Xarelto for a while longer. He could tell that I was nervous about not taking it. He seriously down played the TIA - even said it was not that. He also said that my Nuclear CCT was good.

I am a little frustrated about the outside of the heart and will move to address that concern next week.

I am still so weak and that needs to be added to the list of concerns.

 

[tball]

I am a little frustrated about the outside of the heart and will move to address that concern next week.

Glad to hear it went well. What do you mean by outside of heart?

 

[tball]

Just awesome to hear T. You must be thrilled.

Thanks for reminding me how fortunate I am. I've fallen back into busy life and almost forgotten about my heart surgery in June.

What a tough year. A year ago, I was undergoing every imaginable cardiac test and eventually learned I needed a new aortic valve, and it would need to be through open-heart surgery.

My surgeon gave me the OK to wait until after the ski season as long as I kept my heart rate below 120bpm. He probably thought I'd have surgery in April when he said that, but my interpretation was when A-basin closed, so I scheduled surgery for June 1st.

I am thrilled to have the surgery behind me. Having it hanging out there was tough. A 97% survival rate doesn't sound too bad, but I kept thinking I wouldn't get on an airplane if I knew it had a 3% chance of crashing!

I'm doing a body fat test today to see where I'm at regarding body comp. I know I've put on a lot of weight and will find out how much lean body mass I've lost. In addition to the heart rate restrictions, I couldn't lift weights before surgery unless I could do 30 reps. After surgery, I couldn't lift more than 10 lbs for three months. No doubt I'm in the worst shape of my life, but grateful to be alive!

 

[Lorenzzo]

I’ve harvested the silver lining of health scares twice now. It’s just human nature to take one’s health for granted…until we don’t. The clear coronaries my angiogram showed probably have a health scare 25 years ago to thank, at least in part.

Getting back in shape as you probably know all relies on that first committed step you take. That’s it. From there it gets easier. Once acquired muscles come back pretty fast. Getting BMI healthy is so important, considering the stats.
I’ve been in the healthy range for 18 months and I don’t need another health scare to keep me there. It will feel so good when you get there and it’s the best gift you can give your loved ones.

So great you ended up in the 97.

 

[no edge]

Glad to hear it went well. What do you mean by outside of heart?

The right and left coronary arteries supply blood to your heart. They’re the first branches off the aorta, which is the main artery in your body. These arteries and their branches supply all parts of the heart muscle with blood.
Coronary arteries... They can be seen on the outside of the heart.

All the work done so far has be on the interior. There is no indication that I have any problems here except for cholesterol. My numbers are rather high.

 

[no edge]

Thanks for reminding me how fortunate I am. I've fallen back into busy life and almost forgotten about my heart surgery in June.



I am thrilled to have the surgery behind me. Having it hanging out there was tough. A 97% survival rate doesn't sound too bad, but I kept thinking I wouldn't get on an airplane if I knew it had a 3% chance of crashing!

That's all about living in the moment and one day at a time. I believe that skiing is "live for today:

And three percent - my doctor used 2 percent and it didn't leave me with a good feeling.

 

[crgildart]

Well the ECHO stress test was quite "enhanced" today. I got news right before leaving that my company is laying off 4100 people and my department is among those impacted.. No more details beyond that though..

Made it through level 3 on the treadmill with a final BPM of 165... They needed 162+. Quite winded, calves cramping afterwards, but after cooling back down I felt like I could have gone again if needed. Thankfully they had what they needed. Will wait for the primary care folks to debrief and let me know where I am on the heart health front.

 

[crgildart]

The right and left coronary arteries supply blood to your heart. They’re the first branches off the aorta, which is the main artery in your body. These arteries and their branches supply all parts of the heart muscle with blood.
Coronary arteries... They can be seen on the outside of the heart.

All the work done so far has be on the interior. There is no indication that I have any problems here except for cholesterol. My numbers are rather high.

I don't want to "like" this but I do think it's a good thing that it's so far just cholesterol.. something that can be controlled with diet, exercise, and statins.. I am hopeful that this turns out to be the only area of concern for me.. It's a little high but has been for over a decade. Finally started a statin last week.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Well the ECHO stress test was quite "enhanced" today. I got news right before leaving that my company is laying off 4100 people and my department is among those impacted.. No more details beyond that though..

Made it through level 3 on the treadmill with a final BPM of 165... They needed 162+. Quite winded, calves cramping afterwards, but after cooling back down I felt like I could have gone again if needed. Thankfully they had what they needed. Will wait for the primary care folks to debrief and let me know where I am on the heart health front.

Good luck on not losing your job. Really.

 

[crgildart]

Good luck on not losing your job. Really.

Thank you. I have confidence that IF I get the notice coming Dec 12th, I will find something else similar pretty quickly. FWIW, these layoffs are coming with 6 month severance packages so good on the company for doing more than most others do when this happens.

 

[Prosper]

Thank you. I have confidence that IF I get the notice coming Dec 12th, I will find something else similar pretty quickly. FWIW, these layoffs are coming with 6 month severance packages so good on the company for doing more than most others do when this happens.

Maybe you should hope to get laid off. You'll have an awesome ski season and can start a new job right when the season is coming to a close.

 

[crgildart]

Maybe you should hope to get laid off. You'll have an awesome ski season and can start a new job right when the season is coming to a close.

Ya, no my entire paycheck goes towards college tuition regardless of whether or not I'm actually "working"..

 

[crgildart]

OK got the My Chart test results with the data and comments from the folks who administered the test.. a bunch of "normals" and that I hit 102% of what my age/BMI/whatever hits. I did mention light headdedness similar to what had been concerning me but not the actual dizziness and about to pass out feeling I've had a couple times in the past 5 years (like twice). I'll wait and see what the doc says next month at the follow up but unless there is significant concern there I guess I just need to try to stay at least as active as I am now, perhaps a little more and should be OK. If I do actually pass out we'll go back to the mystery of why..

Don't wait for me at the corral when I stop halfway down.. You'll catch up with me again in a lap or two hahahaha..

 

[no edge]

Don't wait for me at the corral when I stop halfway down.. You'll catch up with me again in a lap or two hahahaha..

That would be me on a good day.

 

[Prosper]

OK got the My Chart test results with the data and comments from the folks who administered the test.. a bunch of "normals" and that I hit 102% of what my age/BMI/whatever hits. I did mention light headdedness similar to what had been concerning me but not the actual dizziness and about to pass out feeling I've had a couple times in the past 5 years (like twice). I'll wait and see what the doc says next month at the follow up but unless there is significant concern there I guess I just need to try to stay at least as active as I am now, perhaps a little more and should be OK. If I do actually pass out we'll go back to the mystery of why..

Don't wait for me at the corral when I stop halfway down.. You'll catch up with me again in a lap or two hahahaha..

Good to hear your stress echo was normal. There are other causes of pre-syncope that are not assessed or found with a cardiac stress test. Your PCP should be able to talk to you about next possible steps to evaluate for those other causes and not just stop after a normal stress echo.

 

[tball]

If you haven't had an echocardiogram, Grant Wahl (the soccer journalist who recently died) is sadly an example of how this simple test can save your life:

What is an ascending aortic aneurysm, the condition that killed Grant Wahl?

According to Wahl’s wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, the autopsy showed he died from a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium.

www.wtkr.com

Any aging athlete should probably have an echo as part of a general cardiac checkup, and being a skier at altitude makes you an athlete. That's how my sports cardiologist sees it.

I had no idea I had an ascending aortic aneurysm like Grant Wahl's until I had an echo. The aneurysm often goes along with the congenital heart defect of a bicuspid aortic valve that 1-2% of the population has, and many don't realize until something goes wrong.

After surgery this summer, I now have a mechanical aortic valve, and my ascending aorta was replaced by a dacron tube, so I'm good to go. Easy peasy.