Yesterday was a good day, in spite of the fact that my doctor tried to kill me.
You see, I've reached an age when both he and I want to establish the baseline state of my health, and what the impact of that is going to be on my future lifestyle. This requires that some tests be performed. We just don't always agree on which ones should be done first.
Anyway, in order to get the ones I want done, I have to submit to others that I'd rather put off -- forever, if possible. One of those is a cardio stress test.
You ever do one of those? They hook you up to an EKG, then put you on a treadmill. Doesn't sound bad so far, you say? Well, it isn't, to start with. They start you out at a slow walk, on a level surface, but then after a little while, they speed it up, and just to make it more fun, they change the angle... pretty soon you are trying to walk uphill on a 15-degree slope, at 3.5 mph! They only stop if my heart rate reaches 145 bpm, or I tell them I'm about to black out. Of course, those parameters are age specific but my weight makes them pretty stressful.
Anyway, just to get past that, I had one yesterday, and the news is good -- no sign of heart disease. In spite of cholesterol levels that require medication, and elevated triglycerides -- imagine that!
Another surprise -- my diastolic BP was 'way lower than it usually is when I go to the doctor, and thats a good thing! I swear it usually jumps 30 points when I walk through his door. Looks like I get to do the other stuff now -- fun, fun, fun...
Oh well, upward and onward, as they say...
Mariner
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