I just checked my post from 6/21: My New Toy/Tool and Knee Surgery Progress (the last before my rant), and realized I hadn't mentioned my visit to the Corning Hospital Joint Camp and primary care physician which resulted in a visit to a cardiologist.
The folks at Corning were basically doing pre-op tests and orientation. Blood was drawn, and EKG was performed, lessons on the exercises I should do prior to surgery, and a briefing of what to expect was held. It was informative and enjoyable.
BUT...it seems the EKG that they did at Joint Camp on the 21st showed a strong heart beat but just 45 of them a minute*. My primary care doc was concerned my this low heart rate and--after taking more blood samples for testing--declared that I should see a cardiologist. So an appointment was made and I met with the heart doc. He too was a bit worried about the low heart beat (although it was a more normal 58 bpm when I saw him) saying that the anesthesiologist might have concerns. Also, low heart beats can be signs of other problems. (BTW, my BP was around 135/85 for most of my doctors' visits. At the cardiologist's it was 120/72.) He reviewed the results of the blood tests performed by my primary care doc and the EKG from Joint Camp. Then he had his technician run a sonogram of my heart.
That was pretty cool! You could see the valves opening and closing, the chambers contracting and relaxing and the blood moving through the old ticker. And there was sound, too!
At the end of the testing, I was cleared to go. No problems, he said. Go get those new knees!
Who knew that on the way to getting new knees I'd also have my heart checked so thoroughly? At least they now have a base line in the data bank should anything happen and I've got to see a cardiologist for something a bit more serious than a low heart rate.
*I've always had a low heart beat. When I had back surgery in the early '90s they almost didn't do it because my heart rate was just 48 bpm but I told them I wasn't leaving until they operated (arthroscopic at that) because I couldn't walk with out pain that was somewhere around 11 on a scale of 1-10.
I'm also getting tired of them asking me if I run regularly. HA! Run? Me? No way, Jose! Maybe it's a result of all the bike riding and swimming I did in junior and senior high school...that's the last time I did any real strenuous exercise.
And stop with the "You won't have a leg to stand on" cracks when talking about the days post-op. Once was funny. Twenty to thirty times...not so much.
1 comment:
You're right; that old saw has run its course. :)
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