thomson
03-27-07, 08:10 PM
<actually, I would have preferred the title to read "Your Heart Belongs to You">
Anyone have their heart ultrasounded? It is the most awesome experience. I had it done yesterday.
Due to a (minor) blip on my EKG on a normal physical, I was refereed to a cardiologist. He said it was probably within range but we should do a stress test anyway.
It started with an ultrasound of my heart, There on the screen I can see this glorious heart muscle pumping life into my body. Each beat was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I vividly recall the exact movement from the beat to the reverberations. I cannot begin to describe the impact of seeing this. I will never take my heart for granted nor ignore its fitness requirements, Those that have had a fetus ultrasound have probably even more feelings about it all as it is a whole new person in there. But I have to say, this really really made an impression on me.
Then I get hooked up to an EKG and a blood pressure cuff put on my arm and off to the treadmill I go. It starts out slowly and I can see the EKG and heart rate on the screen. Heart rate was 70. After 2 minutes, my BP was taken (130/80) and the speed and inclined increased slightly. After 2 minutes my BP was taken (140/80) and the speed and incline increased. Each 2 minutes, a slight increase. After a few more minutes the Doctor asked if I wanted to continue. With all this available to me at the moment, I wanted to get to the highest level of exertion as possible. So I just kept saying I was fine and to keep going. It finally ended at 16% elevation and 6mph. That is as high as the machine would go. My heart rate was the low 150’s. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. One thing I noticed was as the effort increased, both my heart rate and blood pressure increased linearly for the beginning and sort of flattened a little at the end. Also, the heart rate was steady for the entire interval. The machine turned off and they whisked me back to the table and did the ultrasound again. Anyone see ‘American Flyers’? It reminded me of that but I didn’t take it to nearly the level “David” did. I wish I did though.
Bottom line, my heart is perfect. In talking this through, the technician (who was reciting empirical experiences) and the Doctor, the answer to a healthy heart is to work it and work it hard. The heart cannot become as strong as you may want it if it isn’t worked. There is a whole science of how long to spend in various heart rate zones that deal with weight loss/performance/etc. I never spent much time studying that but I can tell you, you want to make sure you press it to its maximum regularly if you want a nice strong heart.
One thing I want to add about the technician, he does these things all day every day and said that the strength of the heart does not seem to be tied to weight, more about the fitness level. He said he has had some rather large people but who did vigorous exercise, and their hearts put out healthy pumps. He has had some skinny guys but who were not in shape and the heart really had to work to feed the meager requirements. Being overweight is hard on different parts of the body but if you want a healthy heart, you need to be fit!!
Anyone have their heart ultrasounded? It is the most awesome experience. I had it done yesterday.
Due to a (minor) blip on my EKG on a normal physical, I was refereed to a cardiologist. He said it was probably within range but we should do a stress test anyway.
It started with an ultrasound of my heart, There on the screen I can see this glorious heart muscle pumping life into my body. Each beat was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I vividly recall the exact movement from the beat to the reverberations. I cannot begin to describe the impact of seeing this. I will never take my heart for granted nor ignore its fitness requirements, Those that have had a fetus ultrasound have probably even more feelings about it all as it is a whole new person in there. But I have to say, this really really made an impression on me.
Then I get hooked up to an EKG and a blood pressure cuff put on my arm and off to the treadmill I go. It starts out slowly and I can see the EKG and heart rate on the screen. Heart rate was 70. After 2 minutes, my BP was taken (130/80) and the speed and inclined increased slightly. After 2 minutes my BP was taken (140/80) and the speed and incline increased. Each 2 minutes, a slight increase. After a few more minutes the Doctor asked if I wanted to continue. With all this available to me at the moment, I wanted to get to the highest level of exertion as possible. So I just kept saying I was fine and to keep going. It finally ended at 16% elevation and 6mph. That is as high as the machine would go. My heart rate was the low 150’s. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. One thing I noticed was as the effort increased, both my heart rate and blood pressure increased linearly for the beginning and sort of flattened a little at the end. Also, the heart rate was steady for the entire interval. The machine turned off and they whisked me back to the table and did the ultrasound again. Anyone see ‘American Flyers’? It reminded me of that but I didn’t take it to nearly the level “David” did. I wish I did though.
Bottom line, my heart is perfect. In talking this through, the technician (who was reciting empirical experiences) and the Doctor, the answer to a healthy heart is to work it and work it hard. The heart cannot become as strong as you may want it if it isn’t worked. There is a whole science of how long to spend in various heart rate zones that deal with weight loss/performance/etc. I never spent much time studying that but I can tell you, you want to make sure you press it to its maximum regularly if you want a nice strong heart.
One thing I want to add about the technician, he does these things all day every day and said that the strength of the heart does not seem to be tied to weight, more about the fitness level. He said he has had some rather large people but who did vigorous exercise, and their hearts put out healthy pumps. He has had some skinny guys but who were not in shape and the heart really had to work to feed the meager requirements. Being overweight is hard on different parts of the body but if you want a healthy heart, you need to be fit!!