I'm bummed.
I always think of myself as the world's healthiest person. I'll have a
kidney stone now and then, or an overuse injury, but clinical evidence
generally never contradicts my self image.
My Doctor and I have been trading observations about blood work numbers for
years. She thinks the cholesterol numbers are a little high and wants to
medicate me. I'm totally asymptomatic and pass every test with flying
colors, so I resist. The latest round of blood work, since I've eliminated
starchy food from my diet are so good, I was thrilled. My triglycerides,
the amount of fat in my bloodstream, have dropped in half to a wonderfully
low 63. The triglyceride/hdl ratio has dropped to an almost perfect 1.
Problem is, my ldl hasn't gone down, and she sees that as a dangerous
indicator.
So Dr Becky offered me this: She said all the treadmill, echocardiogram,
and nuclear stress tests we've done are tests of function. She wants a test
of form. She wants a heart scan. It's an ultra-fast cat scan of the heart
that can see calcium. By recording how much calcium has accumulated, they
can determine the amount of arteriosclerosis, (hardening of the arteries).
That is the only way to look at the condition of the heart without opening
up the chest. It is not commonly prescribed because it costs a few hundred
dollars and it is not covered by insurance.
So I got the heart scan. I fully expected them to report I had the heart of
a twenty year old since it works so well. What I got was not what I
expected. I got a 90th percentile score. That means that in my age group,
only 10 percent of men have hearts in worse condition than mine. I have
significant arteriosclerosis and I have to do something about it or I can
expect to require bypass surgery, if I survive the heart attack.
Bummer.
We all had the same genetic shot at inheriting Dad's heart. Here's hoping I
did the worst.
