So I had an echocardiogram done along with a carotid ultrasound a few weeks ago, the tech who performed these said my heart was strong and that he could drive a 18-wheeler through my arteries. Great news, especially after my best effort to have a heart attack at age 54 three years ago. My cardiologist had scheduled an appointment post-tests, which I went to this Monday along with my wife.
Apparently the tech who performed the echocardiogram focused too much on the ejection fraction. The cardiologist said the results show I’m in early congestive heart failure. More specifically it’s diastolic dysfunction. Basically the heart walls have thickened which keeps it from relaxing and letting more blood into its chambers for the sistolic portion of the beat. Which makes the sistolic, or pump, work harder since it’s moving less blood per beat, thus greater strain. This is in part why my ejection fraction #s looked good to the tech. He basically told me the damage is permanent, my lifespan will not be normal at this point, the congestive heart failure will only worsen with time, but if I lose weight I should have some time left. If I don’t, he said based on his experience (he’s in his late 50s) he expects me to die between ages 60-65. He said the hopeful signs are that my blood pressure is good, as is my cholesterol, major arteries appear to be clear, and I’m not as yet diabetic, though he expects that to be coming by 60 if I don’t lose at least 100 lbs.
I am going to get a second opinion on the test results, but I suspect it’s rather hard for an experienced doctor to misread a standard test like an echo. He’s urged daily exercise and a dramatic reduction in sodium intake. We walked last night after dinner and tonight, since it was colder and rainy, I did 10 flights from the basement up to the 2nd floor in my house.
I’m not going to mention this on FB/social media. I just told my older sister, urging her to not repeat it to our 84yo mother. I highly doubt she outlives me and her health isn’t the best, so putting this on her, when it’s not something I can change in terms of reversing the damage done, just doesn’t strike me as the right thing to do. But I wanted to talk about it somewhere, felt like I needed to. I’ve told my best friend and my sister, but not my brother, we’re both not sure he can be trusted to keep it quiet, he’s liable to tell a cousin who’ll tell their parent who’ll call their sibling (my mom).