Home Forums FineTunedMac Community Lounge First Annual Heart Health Nag

Some of you may recall about a year ago I wrote about my surprise quintuple bypass and how I would never have known I was in danger except my Doctor sent me for a treadmill stress test.

In this test you walk on a treadmill while wearing an electrocardiogram and blood pressure monitor so that your heart performance can be evaluated under stress as opposed to simply sitting in the doctor’s office.

I didn't have any of the conditions that most of us think of as the usual indicators of heart problems so I had never thought “heart attack” - cholesterol was reasonable, no angina-like pains, no squeezing chest pains, no pain in my arms, no increasing episodes of chest pain, et cetera.

The Cardiologist, who was responsible for the test, said that about 30% of the people who die of heart attacks don't have the typical pointers so they don't consider the possibility of a heart attack. They just drop dead unexpectedly.

So…here comes the first annual nag…I urge you to talk to your Doctor about getting a treadmill stress test as a preventive health measure even if you think you're fine.

ryck