Wish me luck or a fast ambulance.

[LBrown59]

That's a great report.
God is good.

This is a 18 month follow up post, after my heart attack, for this thread.


I went to my cardiologist yesterday with the two blood test from the last 3 months. The results as he stated were "perfect".
I also took him a printout of my Garmin Watch (satellite GPS/ heart monitor) which showed my heart rate while I ran 95 miles the last 30 days.
He took my bp and pulse both perfect, and he did a 12 lead EKG. On the 12 lead EKG I previously had a inverted wave due to the heart damage - it does not show up any more.
After my heart attack the proficiency of my heart (Ejection Fraction) was cut in half is now restored to 100%. (EF=60)
BMI is correct for my height.

He had previously discontinued the ace inhibitors and yesterday discontinued my beta blockers and Plavix. Now I just take a statin and aspirin.

He really wanted to do something so he scheduled a stress test but his Nurse Practitioner questioned him and asked: "Why, he runs a hundred miles a month?". He agreed and just said see you in 6 months.

The "Good Morning" thread here on TBN keeps me motivated to run every day.

I know I found the winning diet/lifestyle for my heart disease.
Thank you all for the support,
All is good.

 

[creekbend]

This is a 18 month follow up post, after my heart attack, for this thread.


I went to my cardiologist yesterday with the two blood test from the last 3 months. The results as he stated were "perfect".
I also took him a printout of my Garmin Watch (satellite GPS/ heart monitor) which showed my heart rate while I ran 95 miles the last 30 days.
He took my bp and pulse both perfect, and he did a 12 lead EKG. On the 12 lead EKG I previously had a inverted wave due to the heart damage - it does not show up any more.
After my heart attack the proficiency of my heart (Ejection Fraction) was cut in half is now restored to 100%. (EF=60)
BMI is correct for my height.

He had previously discontinued the ace inhibitors and yesterday discontinued my beta blockers and Plavix. Now I just take a statin and aspirin.

He really wanted to do something so he scheduled a stress test but his Nurse Practitioner questioned him and asked: "Why, he runs a hundred miles a month?". He agreed and just said see you in 6 months.

The "Good Morning" thread here on TBN keeps me motivated to run every day.

I know I found the winning diet/lifestyle for my heart disease.
Thank you all for the support,
All is good.

I'm sincerely glad to hear that your health has improved. Great news.:thumbsup:

 

[brin]

All that is great Don, I am so glad about your labs....but ...you might want to consider a little moderation in the running....anything can be over done....that's all I am gonna say...otherwise all is great...congrats...! Well one more thing...there are studies showing walking is just as good and is not as hard on your knees and hips...now I'm done...

 

[RobertBrown]

You are an inspiration. Sounds like you have put that obstacle behind you. That's no small feat, so you have my respect and admiration.

 

[jinman]

Don, you were no stranger to exercise and hard work when your "event" happened. Certainly, your ability to bounce back was influenced by your existing physical shape. The change of diet and getting right back on the "horse that threw you" are two things that have brought you back from the brink. I'm surprised that you are stopping the Plavix when you have a stent. I thought the Plavix was a lifetime thing to eliminate any danger of plaque build-up inside the stent. I'd love to get rid of Plavix. Scratching myself turns into a blood letting.:rolleyes

Running 100 miles per week at your age speaks well for your inherited joint health. For your joints to allow you to do that at your "advanced" age is probably as surprising as your heart healing so well. BTW, what's your weight? You were always slender, and I'd bet your new diet makes you even more so.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

This is great news Don! Glad to hear it.

 

[arrow]

That is a good report Don. There is a possible pea in the mattress here that may be food for thought. It was last month I read about these marathon and ultra runners that were actually causing damage to their hearts as a result of inflammation from exercising so strenuously. They found the body of one such person in a stream after he went on a twelve mile jog and never returned. This guy may have been doing a hundred miles a week for all we know. I do not know what is considered the possible troublesome parameters and I'm not sure the people who wrote the article know either but it may be something to check into. As always with this kind of media reporting , the devil is in the details and they always leave the details out.

 

[txdon]

Thanks guys.
Jim, a bare metal stent is epithelialized into the artery, so the lining of the artery grows over the stent. This can happen in as short a time as 3 months. When the stent is within the lining, the Plavix can be discontinued. Stents that are drug eluding take longer. Mine is a bare metal stent which was the choice of the cardiologist during my heart attack and I believe it was the best choice for me. He is over-protective so that is probably why he opted for 18 months, and I had to request discontinuing it, in fact I had to request discontinuing each of my meds, and only after careful review would he allow it.
Weight 165. Now that cooler temps are here I hope to be outside more and take off another 5.

Arrow, I know how strenuous a marathon can be and the effect on the muscles. I have run 13 in years past. First you use up your carbohydrates then proteins and then muscle which I do not need because the heart is a muscle. Daily 30-60 minute runs (depending on pace) to exercise my heart and plenty recoup time seem to work. If I do a longer run then I skip the day after.

 

[mikim]

Don -- WHERE do you run? Your roads are as bad as mine ....did you cut a track in the pasture?

 

[txdon]

Mike, I do have a cut track in the field 8 laps = 3 miles. I run in Bastrop once a week

My watch, a Garmin Forerunner 610, keeps track of my laps and distance, pace and heart rate, no way to cheat. The watch downloads all info into the computer and uploads to Garmin and shows a map of where you ran, your heart rate, pace and cadence each second. You can then put this info on various graphs. Too cool.
It also has a virtual running partner, but that's a whole another thread.

FYI "Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue" is now on Netflix it has a lot of good info.