Heart (almost) Healthy

On Thursday, two good things happened: my cousin Sarah came back from Ecuador, and I got some good news about my heart concerns.

Back in the USA
Sarah has been roughing it in the Peace Corps for two years now, and since she is re-upping for one more she was able to get a month leave to come home. Thursday night was my first chance to see her, along with her family.

She looks great and seems really happy. We didn’t get as many Ecuador stories as I would have liked but everyone had many things to say, so conversation meandered from one topic to another, as it is wont to do in my family. Still, it was great to see her again — she’s really grown up from that annoying little tyke that I remember so fondly. Better yet, Shari and I are meeting her, her sister Erin and Erin’s husband Chas for dinner at Monks on Thursday. Can’t wait.

I <3 My Heart
Also on Thursday, I went through my cardiac tests to see what was going on with the palpitations and tightness, and got some good news.

My EKG was good, and my stress test showed great heart function and no blockages. It turns out that the ‘tightness’ I was feeling was actually the pressure from a double beat (‘ throwing PVCs’), where I am feeling the second overfull beat occurring. I got to feel/ watch it happen during my stress test, but it only happened a few times right at the start of the moderate part of the running. And the doctor isn’t worried, so I guess I was just being a cardiachondriac.

The Not-So-Good News
Got my blood tests back, too. They show my cholesterol its slightly high (217), which is disappointing, but not entirely surprising when I think about my diet and lack of real exercise lately. Good news is that I should be able to get it under control fairly easily by eating better and actually exercising on a regular basis. My triglycerides were fine, so it’s hopefully more of a symptom than a condition. But I’ll need to keep an eye on it since my mom has sky high cholesterol (although hers is mostly due to liver damage from the effects of drinking, if I had to guess).

Of a little more concern is that my thyroid function is ‘slightly depressed’, whatever that means. The doc wasn’t too concerned though – i just have to do a followup in two months.

Ain’t getting old a bitch? But at least it’s treatable.