What the cardiologist said about my atrial flutter...

This post is more than 2 months late as my last cardiologist appointment was before the Mpumalanga bike ride in April, but it was written already, not sure why I didn't put it up, so here it is for posterity sake. The "about the atrial flutter" thing is actually to get more hits so if you're reading this as a link to find out more about atrial flutter, I do have it, read more about my cardiac history to see what I'm doing about it.

I was a little apprehensive going back to the cardiologist, it was 6 months down the line and when we parted last time he had hinted at a possible implanted device. I'm up for most things but I don't want to be THAT dependent on technology. So if he did suggest surgery I was gonna go running back to my old doctor and ask him for a second opinion.

Mildly paranoid as I am, I also had visions of him telling me that I've been abusing my body... I must stop exercising... I have deteriorated etc. But those weren't to be the results I would receive from him.

As per usual I went for an ECG where I still found it strange to sit while she stuck the, not so sticky, electrodes all over my chest. I watched as my heart rate fluctuated between 60 and 75. Somehow she picked a set of waves somewhere in the middle and I was done.

After waiting for what seemed like forever, considering the fortune my medical aid is paying for this appointment, I finally got to see the doctor. He was incessantly answering the phone, but after umming and ahing and taking what seemed like an awful amount of time doing the hands on physical examination...checking the pulse, and, I assume, water retention in my ankles, then listening to my heart from all sorts of positions, then listening to my breathing, again I assume for water on the lungs. Finally he tapped my on my back, which I assume has something to do with my kidneys... need to read more about why.

Then he did the echo cardiogram... it continually surprises me that he does it himself... anyway the good news is that he found my ejection fraction(EF) to be between 44 and 46%. I'm not sure how accurate the measurement techniques are but he seemed quite confident that there was an improvement. The thing is that I can't say that I FEEL an improvement. Sure I go about my day much like I assume any other "normal" person does. I work a full day, go for a run and then go to bed between 9 and 11 without being completely exhausted. But I've felt this way for ages... what does a 10% increase in heart function (previous EF was 36%) do, or feel like.

So I'm going to continue being an eternal pessimist and assume that the last EF of 36% was under measured and this EF of 44% was over measured, and assume that I'm somewhere in between at about 40%. I wish I knew exactly what my EF was when I was first diagnosed 9yrs ago, but considering climbing a flight of stairs was a problem I'm sure there is a huge improvement. And then if I look at my exercise log book, last May I started out doing very short runs, now I do 5km three times a week... I sometimes find the run itself tough, but I recover fine. So maybe there is a definite improvement... I will convince my self when I do my first half marathon.

First I need to survive next week's 400km bicycle tour...

Ok ok!! I know I must be more consistent!

So I haven't posted for more than a month, terrible I know, but in all honesty I have been REALLY busy. I try to blog on weekends and I honestly haven't managed to get to a PC on the weekend for ages!

The good news is that I have been pretty consistent with my running. Except for a week in the Western Cape when I went to visit my sister and her new baby... oh and a week where I did the cycle ride mentioned in my previous post... IT WAS TORTURE by the way... otherwise I have been consistently exercising three times a week, recently more.

So here's what I've been up to in brief:
Cardiologist visit
I actually wrote a post which I must put up later this week. But the jist was that my echo indicated a significant improvement in Ejection Fraction. I'm always a little sceptical because I know that you can have errors in measurement, but it was good news.

Great Mpumalanga bike ride
Scenery: Fantastic!
People: Awesome!
Route: Hell
The route advertised and mentioned in my last post was SO not the route followed! Because there were so few entrants the organisers had to use smaller venues and so the route had to change. I wish they had told me because I probably would not have gone. I completed day 1, 6 and 7, for the rest I took the sag wagon at some point as the hills and the distance were just too great. My body was saying "dude, you're pushing too hard" by the last day I had a bit of a cold and I decided not to ride.

Do I regret going? No.
Would I do the same route again? No.
Would I go on another cycling holiday? Very likely yes.

Western Cape visit
Managed to get in one 15km ride and a 2,5hr hike up table mountain. It's always cool to come back and appreciate what you've left behind. But I should have done more and I felt it for a week or two when I got back.

Since then
Somewhere along the line I realised that I have less than a year left to get to my goal of a 21km, so I kindof decided I need to commit to some longer runs than just doing a 5km 3 times a week. So I've decided with my training partner that we will do atleast 1 10km run a month, and as those get easier or quicker we will start to do some slightly longer runs aswell.

I also decided that I would like to lose a bit of my belly so I'm following a mild weight training regime. So far I am down to my long time minimum weight of 74kg's I hope to get to about 70, I'll be happy with that.

So we did the first 10km yesterday and I thought I wasn't ready for it. It seemed like an easy route and as I got to the finish I realised I had lots left over. I completed it in 1hr16 which is fine for me although under 70mins would be much better, but I'm not looking for a time, my first priority is always just to finish. Time will look after itself.

I feel like perhaps the extra strength in my legs... and perhaps the rest of my body... helped me out yesterday, so I'm going to continue with the weights as long as it's helping me to do so.

I also looked online for info about "alternative" treatments for heart conditions. I've seen Carnitine and Co-Enzyme Q10 mentioned regularly so I will try a small dose of this for the next two months. Hopefully I feel more energetic and these items will help my heart get stronger aswell.

Summary
Basically if you thought I had gotten lazy you are wrong, I've been working hard, sometimes feeling like I'm getting nowhere, but whether I'm going through an optimistic or pessimistic phase (I know I do!! LOTS) I'm still keeping active and getting slowly closer to my goal. Watch this space :)