interesting study

Ok, I found a study (Mora (2003) JAMA 290:1600-7) that says that the finding on my EKG (depressed ST segment with exercise) is not associated with increased mortality among women on a 20 year followup study. The factors that correlated with increased mortality were low exercise capacity, low heart rate recovery (HRR), and not achieving target heart rate--all of them things where I am above average.

update

I indeed flunked the stress test. If I'm lucky it may be a type of false positive that is fairly common in women. But if I'm unlucky it is a blockage--I have to have a heart catheterization to check it out. Currently scheduled for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, unless I want to cancel a trip in order to do it sooner.

stress test

My heart rate goes high when I exercise, and my doctor wanted me to have that checked out. I had the stress test this morning, first having the fight I expected with the doctor conducting the test, who didn’t want to let me go above the normal maximum heart rate for my age. Luckily I had anticipated the problem and could say that my cardiologist had promised to tell the doctor conducting the test to let me keep going. I did get within 5 points of the highest heart rate I have observed, but I was nowhere near pushing myself to the maximum—I was puffing but could still talk. The doctor conducting the test wouldn’t let me go any farther because there was an abnormality on the EKG. I got a call from my cardiologist’s office that he wants to see me today, and I also have an echocardiogram scheduled.

Now I’m scared. I’ve lost nearly 50 pounds in the last year since I was diagnosed with diabetes, and I’ve been getting into serious bicycling for 4 months. I feel great, and I’m having fun. Exercise clearly has an unusually strong effect on me—my reaction is if it were a drug it would be illegal. The physical changes have also been very important to me in reinforcing my healing journey. I’m so afraid of being told to stop. I could push myself a little less hard, but slowing down very much would take the fun out of it.

compliment

I really felt complimented today when someone said to me "you must have an amazing tolerance for stress."

cold weather bicycling

It was 46 degrees when I set out this morning, and I went back to the house twice for additional clothing. I cut off tubes from an old sock to make wrist warmers. I ended up fairly comfortable, but feeling it was harder to move because I was bundled up. I got in a good three hour ride.

depressing election

I had some hope for our Democratic candidate for senate, but she lost by 10 points. What was even more depressing was that president and senate were the only races in which there was a choice--for congress in my district and for all state offices that were up for election, Republicans were running unopposed.

fall break

I had Monday and Tuesday off and I guess I let down some, but now I feel desperate that I haven't done more to catch up. I did get a couple of good long bike rides, and signed up to do a 100 mile event the first weekend in December (near Charleston, where it is flat!). I felt last week that finally I had gotten through the therapist transition, but clearly it is going to take me a while to work through the feelings.