Have you been to a Cardiologist?

Speed back in time to 1973. I was 12 going on 13. Those of us old enough will remember the Energy Crisis. Gasoline for sale on odd days only, lines around gas stations. It was a time where the American Public began an awareness of fuel consumption. My father decided to start riding a bicycle to work.

Then he bought a really good bike and began big rides. I can remember riding behind him on my own Schwinn 10-speed, up and back the long Santa Ana Riverbed bike trail - the same one I run on now when I go home to visit. Then he became interested in more challenging rides. One Sunday he and few biking buddys rode up and over Saddleback Mountain - a coastal mountain not far from our home. A long ride and a tough ride. He never came home.

A policeman rang the doorbell and informed my mother and me that he was in a local hospital, his condition unknown. Later we found that it was very known, but I can see how that policeman just couldn't bring the news he was tasked. My father had suffered a massive heart attack while biking on Santiago Canyon Road. He was found on the side of the road by his biking buddy, who tried to revive him. He was dead on arrival.

That day 5 young people lost their father. A stay-at-home mom lost her husband and her partner. A mother and father lost their son. A brother lost his brother. Three young people lost their uncle. An aunt lost her nephew. Many people lost a friend and America lost a World War 2 Veteran. He was just 47 years old.

My Mom & Dad in the 1960's~

An autopsy showed he had diffuse Left Main Coronary Artery Disease. Something that is fixed today by bypass surgery or coronary stents made by the very company I work for. A disease process that hailed the Cholesterol Testing that became popular in years to come.

And the thing that drives me to the Cardiologist for an annual work up because, I have family history.

Now you know why I am so attached to my heart rate watch! And why I always refer to the fact that I am trying to avoid "dropping dead out in the desert"! All of my siblings have inherited the bad cholesterol gene from our father and we all get our cardiology work ups as we passed the age that our father lost his life.

So here is the good news. My recent Cardiology Visit was very positive. My doc told me that I remain free of lipid problems as of this visit, (but assured me that I remain at a high probability of need of cholesterol medications in years to come). He was quite pleased with my perfusion tests. My blood pressure of 112/60 and resting heart rate of 49 were a clear indication my running was doing good things for my heart. Here is another interesting thing we spoke of. I told him I ran my marathon with an average heart rate of 155 and that although that is high by the standards for my age, I felt fine at that rate. He gave me the blessing to run at 155 and even said I would be fine running in the low 160's.

So! I have another year of good health and have pushed the medications off into the future. Because I am running? I can't help but think all of these regular workouts are helping my heart to keep fit. But my real reason for writing this post is that it occurred to me that there might be some of you "oldsters" out there (like me!), that maybe haven't had a good work up to make sure you are heart healthy. Do it now, even if you feel fine. My father felt fine. And he was just 47 years old. Issues with your heart and arteries are so much easier to manage if they are caught early rather than late. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Take it from me, the reassurance from the heart doc makes it so much easier to think about a 20 mile run this weekend!