Breakfast: Cup of All Bran and half cup of raisens with whole milk. Was out of Skim Milk. A vitamin and 1 DHEA tablet. Still haven't thought to pick up some Omega 3 capsules. Been eating walnuts (good source of omega3) throughout the day though.
My family makes fun of my walnuts. But I got my results back from my physical yesterday. The Doctor told me that I wasted my money. My blood work was perfect. I was surprised to say the least. In the past my Cholesterol has been too high. This was the first physical I've had since I started eating walnuts almost daily, taking omega3 capsules and eating fish rich in omega 3. My total Cholesterol this time was 159 (acceptable range is 125-200. LDL (I call it Least Desirable Level so I remember which is good and which is bad) was 104 (less than 130 is acceptable) and my HDL(Highly Desirable Level) was 42 (greater than 40 is acceptable). This was the best I've ever tested. My Triglycerides were 65 (less than 150 is acceptable). Make fun of my walnuts now why don't you!
I did get a scare though. Doctor said there was a problem with my EKG. He went into a detailed description of the waveform and what each blip indicated. He drew a diagram of the heart and how the electrical signals function.
The "pacemaker" is the Sinus Node. That is where the heart beat starts. It sends signals to the rest of the heart so the muscles will contract. First, the atrium (top chambers)contracts. Next, the electrical signal travels to the area that connects the atria with the ventricles. This electrical connection is critical. Without it, the signal would never reach the ventricles, the major pumping chambers of the heart. The first structure it reaches is another natural pacemaker called the atrioventricular (AV node). A structure called the bundle of His emerges from the AV node and divides into thin, wire-like structures called bundle branches that extend into the right and left ventricles. The electrical signal travels down the bundle branches to thin filaments known as Purkinje fibers. These fibers distribute the electrical impulse to the muscles of the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood into the arteries.
Doctor then told me that in my heart, the time that the electrical signal traveling from the sinus node to the AV node was longer than normal. The condition is called First Degree Blockage. His explanation took about 10 minutes during which I was holding my breath. He THEN states that this is nothing to worry about. I can run, lift, do strenuous work.. anything physical without any worry. Whew... thanks doc now I can breathe. He did say that it wasn't critical but to "put a bow around the package" I should consider wearing a Holter pack for 24 hours to record my heartbeats to make sure I was not dropping more than the normal amount of beats. Yeah doc I want to do that.
1 comment:
No more making fun of Jerry's nuts...er walnuts. I have starting eating them also. Glad things were better with your physical except for the temoprorary scare at the end. I felt that way when the doctor told me I had mitral valve prolapse. After he explained that it may never cause any serious problems, I was able to breathe also. I had my physical yesterday and everything was fine but now am waiting for the blood work results. I am also glad it is getting warmer so I can jog outside. Have a healthy day! later
Post a Comment