6:56 p.m. - July 28, 2022
Cardio convo.
Spoke to cardiologist at length on the phone. Will be starting a statin, but I can play around with it, ramp up slowly, titrate down if I get side effects, etc. because taking it now is to prevent issues in 20 years. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And some bits of good news:
1. It's nothing I did--which I kind of figured. Yeah, I struggle with the post-menopausal belly, but heart disease doesn't fit with my lifestyle. It's very much a "THANKS, DAD" genetic thing. Doc actually said blood cholesterol isn't a very good barometer, and I agree. From everything I've read, family history, weight, smoking, and uncontrolled high blood pressure are the biggest indicators of risk. You can have normal or even low cholesterol and yet still get plaque in your arteries if your genes say so. See: Marathon runners with 8% body fat dropping dead at the finish line because of a blocked artery they didn't know they had.
2. No restrictions on exercise type, intensity, or duration. "The more, the better." THANK GOODNESS. Do not mess with my city hikes. Do not mess with my Firm workouts. The annoying chest/shoulder/neck discomfort I get is most likely from another cause, which I suspect is a nerve in my neck from lugging my laptop, lunch, etc. to and from the office. It didn't bother me the whole time I worked from home in June, and it flared up when I went back a couple times a week.
3. The best for last: Very LOW risk of heart attack in the next 5 to 10 years.
He said I could live to 95 if I keep doing what I'm doing because we caught it early. I said I'd be happy with 85. ('Cuz 95 years old in America scares me.)
And now I need to write my internist a thank-you note for referring me.
