Apparently, my heart is sound

[redbird]

I have been to the cardiologist and had a stress test. The conclusion is that my heart is just fine. He thinks the breathing difficulties are "a touch" of cold or stress-induced asthma, and he doesn't think I need to pursue this any further, in part because I "exercised well," by which it turned out he meant without shortness of breath.

I asked his office to send today's results to my G.P., in case I do want to pursue it further, or she does. What I am not feeling at this point is any sense of urgency; it has now landed in the queue somewhere behind a dental appointment and seeing the eye doctor (both of which would ideally happen in February, but I suspect at most one will).

The stress test itself was rather less stressful than I was expecting: ultrasound, then walk on a treadmill until I got my heart rate up to 150, then another ultrasound. I don't usually get to 150 on the gym's cardio bikes, but it's not that unusual for me either.

After seeing the cardiologist, I walked a little in Carl Schurz Park (East End Avenue in the mid-Eighties, an area I don't remember ever visiting before), then rode the bus (since it was about to arrive) a few blocks to a branch of my gym. I did some weight training (this branch lacks some of the hardware I like, enough so that I may stop at the usual place after work tomorrow). I grabbed a not-very-good lunch at a random place nearby afterwards, then back across Central Park, and up to Washington Heights. I walked a few hilly blocks in the sunshine, and now have a loaf of seeded rye bread (some of which is in the freezer for later), and took the subway the rest of the way. Now, tea.


Gym details:

No actual cardio, I treated the stress test as my cardio warmup; this branch doesn't have bikes in the cardio area, as far as I could see.
(strive) chest press, different design, some upward push, 50 pounds, 12; 55 pounds, 12
Balance ~fly, 4/20 (I think those are kilos, so call it 45 pounds), 2 sets of 15 with each foot forward
Cross-body pull, 2/10, 20 with right arm
Adjustable row (again, different machine, harder for me), 60 pounds, 15: when I tried starting a second set, my wrist hurt, so I stopped.

Biceps curls, 10 pounds each hand, 2 sets of 20
Crunches, 3 sets of 30
Back arches, 3 sets of 17 [I think--either of those numbers may be off, since I lost track completely in there somewhere]
Yoga tree, 5 sets of {3 on each leg}
Balance squats, 9-pound bar, 2 sets of 15 (not as well balanced as usual)
Stretches

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Yeah for whole hearts!

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad this turned out to be less stressful than you had feared, even though lunch was disappointing. (I always knew you had a good heart. And that you exercised well.)

[pameladean]

I'm very glad to hear this good news. A sound heart is a very fine thing indeed.

P.

[barberio.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear. I told you about my own recent scare, and it's no fun at all to be worried about it. Lots of relief when they do the tests and say nothing is wrong with your heart, but still annoying when the stuff that's causing trouble still goes on.

I do hope it's manageable cold-air asthma, since that's something you can do stuff about. I wonder if the attacks might also have made become so conscious of your breathing you start to disrupt it when stressed.

[daharyn.livejournal.com]

I am quite glad to hear that your heart is sound.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Good results!