Heart Update

A bit of a heart update today, perhaps the last one for a while, probably at least August.

Today I was back into to see Dr Stobie my cardiologist. The appointment wasn't for anything bad, just a 6 month check up. Since I last saw Dr Stobie I have had my genetic tests back and done an exercise stress test so there was a bit of news to discuss.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the genetic tests were inconclusive, which is neither a good or bad thing. It reduces the likelihood that I have a genetic heart condition, but doesn't rule it out. I am seeing it as a bit of a win as a low chance of a heart condition is better than a high chance or a guarantee. Dr Stobie discussed these results with me today, but the genetic testing lab had done a good job debriefing me so this was interesting but not breaking news.

The bit of new news I got today was the results of my stress test. I knew from the actual test that there was nothing alarming in those results, otherwise the Doctor would have stopped me during the test. However, today Dr Stobie was able to go into a little bit more detail.

The upshot of the stress test was that the result was pretty good, in fact Dr Stobie was quite happy with it. There was nothing really alarming in the test, under load the heart behaved itself quite nicely, no funny business. Dr Stobie said it was the best result I have had for a stress test and that he felt it indicated things are definitely improving.

This result isn't really a conclusion of any kind, but Dr Stobie is very happy with the progress and is, therefore, happy for me to continue doing what I am doing for now. This means that my current level of exercise etc seems to be alright. He even said that if I wanted to think about doing a triathlon then it would be possible, as long as I could take it easy. The news about doing another race if I wanted was pretty cool, although whether or not I would be able to let myself take it easy during a triathlon is a probably another matter.

So with these positive results that is that for now. The next step is for another cardiac MRI to give us a bit more information about how the heart is looking, however, with the current results there isn't much urgency for that imaging so it isn't booked in until August. Other than that it is a case of steady as she goes until my next check up in October.

It has been a long time since I have had good news about my heart. For a few months now it has been feeling like things have been improving, however, it is hard to really judge it based just on how I feel. These extra test results are hardly conclusive, but they do give a couple of extra data points to back up how I am feeling. Things don't really change much following from the news from today, however, it does mean the status quo can continue. At this stage I am happy to take that as good news.