My mom died Sept 23rd from a massive heart attack at the age of 83. She had no warnings, no symptoms, no clues. My father died May 16, 2005 from heart disease. My genes are not really good, but I have been a runner since my 20's and I'm 57 now. I became more than a little preoccupied with death and death from heart attacks. I made an appointment with my physician and much to my surprise my blood pressure was in the 200/110 range. My cholesterol was near 300. The bad was in the 170's and the good was in the 30's. Just to satisfy my curiosity, my doctor put me on a treadmill, and though I was in great shape, I flunked. I had inverted T-waves. I was sent to a cardiologist and scheduled for a cardiac cath. I was also put on blood pressure medicine and a statin for the cholesterol. The cardiac cath seemed like a bad movie to me. I saw myself as the star who would be blown away by bad news consisting of clogged arteries. I was sure my open-heart surgery was just around the corner.
Did I mention I have been a runner since my 20's with two marathons completed? I'm not a good runner, but I run fairly consistently. My coronary arteries were gorgeous. I was told I have the coronary arteries of a baby.
Now then, I am 57, and both my non-exercising parents died of heart disease. My father was a full-blown diabetic. So was his father. So are some of his brothers and sisters. I am not taking the gift of my wonderful heart lightly. I have an elevated hemoglobin A1C of 6.1 which I understand indicates pre-diabetes. My glucose tolerance test was perfect. No one lives forever, and it seems unfair that I am blessed with high cholesterol, hypertension and pre-diabetes. But, and it is an important but, I have allowed myself to carry around 30 to 40 extra pounds.
I will guarantee that at this time next year I will weigh 130 pounds. I bet I will run a little faster. I will still be fighting cholesterol. I will still need blood pressure medicine. I will still need to check the hemoglobin A1C, but I am not dropping over from a heart attack till I'm at least 85 or 90. It is really kind of fun to defy mother nature. I try to remember my 20's and 30's, before I complacently gained and gained, not really comprehending the insidious upward trend. Sadly, a lot of people tell me I'm fine. Those are people who will go through the line at my laying out. My doctor says I'll need knee replacements if I keep running. He is a chubby non-running guy. I, of course, must end this very long blog. Watch me get to 130. Watch me run. I value living. I have really good knees.
