[ad_1]
By bike
Age: 55
Occupation: Content strategist
Hometown: Sparta, New Jersey
Start weighing: 220 pounds
Final weight: 170 pounds
Cycling time: 18 years old
Reason for cycling: I love it, it doesn’t feel like exercising most of the time. When I started it was to lose weight and now it’s to keep on living.
In 2002, I weighed almost 220 pounds (I was 36 and 5ft 10). I had health issues and although I had a family history of heart disease I was very sedentary. My wife told me that I was too young to be in such bad shape and that I had to be there for our young children.
So, I started to exercise and eat better – healthier, whole foods and more fruits and vegetables – but it wasn’t until I rediscovered cycling that that really changed for me. . I owe most of my health improvements to cycling. Most importantly, he was responsible for improving my cardiovascular health and even protected me from being another victim of a widower.
In March 2020, between the stress of the pandemic and other things going on in my life, I started having chronic heart palpitations, so I went to my cardiologist to get checked out. Tests showed that I was overproducing adrenaline so I was prescribed medication and my symptoms went away after that. However, my cardiologist said that since I have a family history of heart problems, I should have a full heart checkup, including a stress test and echocardiogram.
Since my symptoms disappeared and the coronavirus pandemic put an end to many non-urgent procedures, we decided to wait to do the stress test until the office reopens in June. He showed an anomaly, so I was sent for a nuclear stress test. Still, I had no symptoms. During this time, I continued to ride. I did a 60 mile charity ride – I live in Northwestern New Jersey where there are Monster Hills. But there was no abnormality with my heart rate during these climbs.
For a while I had to go back and forth with insurance to get other tests approved because I was asymptomatic and at one point I almost gave up.
Finally, I was able to get a heart scan at the end of October 2020. The heart CT scan showed 95% and 70% blockages in my anterior descending lateral artery (LAD). A complete blockage of this artery causes what is called a widower’s heart attack. I had to put on two stents immediately, so I went for the surgery on November 3rd. My cardiologist told me that cycling was most likely the reason I survived until my condition was discovered.
After about two weeks of recovery, my doctor agreed to moderate exercise and I was able to get back on the bike. Since it’s cold where I live now, I haven’t done as many walks as I will in the spring and summer. I have traveled about 170 miles since my procedure in November.
My treatment in the future is complicated. Since I have never been symptomatic, I do not have the typical markers – I do not get short of breath, do not have chest pain, and my heart rate does not rise, so I need to be monitored more closely by my patient. doctor.
He said I could keep cycling even in the cold. I don’t notice much of a difference, maybe I can recover faster at the top of the hills after hard work, but nothing else has changed.
I don’t think I have centuries in my future, although technically probably I can, I don’t think I will take that risk. My wife and I are planning a cycling vacation in Vermont, and we’re planning to ride like we did in 2020 – a few days at lunch for a ride and 30-35 miles on weekends plus a few charity rides. .
I really want to stress the importance of having your heart checked out if you have a family history of heart problems. Even if you are active and have no symptoms, don’t assume you’re okay. It could literally save your life, like it saved mine.
We want to know how cycling has changed you! Submit your story and submit your photos to us through this web form. We will choose one each week to highlight it on the site.
You might also like
[ad_2]
Source link