Cross Training / General Health & Fitness

[AntonioGG]

I hate the automatic ones at the dr office, especially the wrist ones.

1. Get a basic pressure cuff (make sure the cuff is the right size for you...I've never seen anyone switch out the cuffs for different size people/arms.
2. Get a basic stethoscope.  Getting something nicer means better comfort. Some are downright painful for your ears.
3. Measure same time of day in same conditions (i.e. after you drink your morning water/meds, before coffee, etc.)
4. Best if someone else does it but I've taken my own BP.  Cuff on your bicep at heart level, arm, shoulder, hand relaxed.
5. With the slow heartbeat of athletic people, slower pressure release will give you more accuracy in detecting the Korotkoff sounds.

[throet]

On 1/30/2024 at 8:07 AM, throet said:

Another hard lesson learned about listening to your body, and another lucky outcome. Earlier this month I started experiencing a dull pain in my chest that got slightly worse when I exercised. I sort of wrote it off to aging and angina, since I wasn't feeling any other symptoms, such as shortness of breath, lightheadedness, weakness, etc. The one real oddity was a ride on Jan 7, where I was having to stop after every climb to catch my breath and where my max HR far exceeded the norm for me (and for any 65yr old dude for that matter) at 190. I wrote that off too, to lack of sleep and alcohol consumption the day prior, aka "low body battery". Still, I did make an appointment with my Cardiologist but the earliest available was in mid-Feb. Fast forward to Jan 28 (this past Sun) - woke up excited to pick up my buddy and head out to RPR for some much needed riding before settling in for an afternoon / evening of NFL action. I started feeling some sharper pains in my chest though, that would come and go as I was just going through my morning routine. Finally my better judgement kicked in and I let my friend know what was going on and that I didn't want to chance it, especially knowing the medical response at RPR would be less than ideal for anything life threatening. I woke up my wife and let her know that I was going to just run over to the BS&W Emergency Hospital in Cedar Park so that I could get checked out and back home for the NFL games. The EKG was perfectly normal, but given my past history of pulmonary embolism, they did a CT Scan, even though my D-Dimer (blood indicator of clotting) was only slightly elevated. Good thing they did as multiple clots were discovered across both lungs. Needless to say, instead of enjoying some ice-cold beer that afternoon, I was treated to a steady drip of Heparin while watching football on a hospital-grade (small) flatscreen TV. They found no DVT this time, and surmised that the clots may be the residual effect of stuff that's been going on for the past few weeks. In any case, I'll be on Eliquis indefinitely now given this second episode of pulmonary emboli. Moral of story, listen to your body and don't fear the dreaded "false alarm at the ER", as I've had a few of those myself as well. In retrospect, I should have gone much earlier and just got lucky this time, again.          

Well after 3 weeks out of the hospital and back on Eliquis, more bad news. My cardiologist informed me this week that there was an incidental finding on the echocardiogram that was taken during my hospitalization. Turns out I have an early-stage aortic aneurysm that will require some "watchful waiting". I'm now wishing I would have listened to @Ridenfool's wisdom a couple of years ago, about not pushing ourselves too hard in our later stages of life. Instead, I adopted the approach of invisibility. I ignored the danger signs of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, OSA, etc, simply because none of it was affecting my physical performance. My resting heart rate was incredibly low and my max heart rate was incredibly high - healthy heart, right? Even with a healthy heart though, the supporting systems have to keep up, and when they don't, the results can be fatal. I suppose I could consider myself lucky to know about the aneurysm early on, as many people's first symptom is their last symptom. Still, I'm downright depressed knowing that I will no longer be able to push the upper limits of my physical ability. Perhaps a shiny new e-Bike will cheer me up though. 😁  

 

[Ridenfool]

Recently had that conversation about not pushing limits with some friends. Emphasizing how I'm in it for the long haul, and hope that they buy into that too. I'd rather be riding slow with them in ten or fifteen years than any of us be missing from the picture. It is tough for them to not play "chase the rabbit" when they ride.

I'm glad you found out before having a blow-out.

Because knowledge is power, there's no reason to be depressed. It is merely an opportunity to review your priorities now that you have new data.

I think you will like an e-bike. It fits nicely into the plan to avoid breaking stuff internally that we will need to carry on, while riding at the pace that tickles our fancy.

 

Edited February 22 by Ridenfool

[AustinBike]

I have struggled with cholesterol for years. It's a hereditary thing because I have tried everything and can't seem to bring it down.

For a while I had a doctor pushing me to get on statins because my overall number was well over 200, which is why I tried everything to avoid statins. My new doctor was much more pragmatic. Her position was that as long as my LDL was less than 160 I was fine to stay off statins. Because I ride every day, my HDL was high and my eating/drinking habits kept my Triglycerides in check. 

7 years ago I had a calcium scan and the score was ~25. Just had one in January and my new number was 140. Statins it is. Step aside lifestyle this is a job for science.

[rockshins]

Sorry to hear about the health troubles. This got me to schedule a doctors appointment and blood draws. Wishing everyone good health going forward!

[June Bug]

On 2/22/2024 at 12:42 PM, Ridenfool said:

Recently had that conversation about not pushing limits with some friends.

Had a bit of a learning experience this past late summer/fall. We were riding Boggy Draw above Dolores, CO two or three times a week at 8,000' elevation.  Mostly non technical, buff singletrack, but the beginning of the loop that we do is a gentle climb for about 3 miles, with a steeper grade towards the end of the climb. 

I finally realized that I could just get in my easiest gear and easy spin right along keeping a steady cadence rather than working at pedalling hard.  That's when I started to be able to do the whole thing without stopping.  Definitely more fun,  easier on the legs and I think better for cardio.