I Heart You

My mom had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Bet you didn't know that, huh?

She actually didn't get diagnosed until after she retired. After reading up on this condition, it's surprising that she actually didn't have a heart attack when she was younger. She worked so hard. Always so hard.

Since this is a genetic condition, the immediate familiy needs to be screened every few years. In my case I need to be screened every 5 years. So off I trot to get an echocardiogram. (ultrasound and hooked up to wires) I got my results today and my heart is okay. And I also found out something new.

I was under the impression that after being screened the first time (this was not my first time) and getting an all-clear, I thought that I didn't have this disease. But did I question why I still needed to get screened, why no I did not. Like a sheep, I blindly accepted that every few years I had an appointment and duly showed up at the clinic to be hooked up and checked out. Only this year did I think to question the sentences in her email.... "Just received your echo report today. Everything looks fine. There is no evidence of HCM at this point..." Did you catch that? at this point. How did I fail to acknowledge this before?

And then I found out: "Yes, it can show up at any time....Unfortunately there is nothing you can do to prevent it....If you have the abnormal gene from your mom it may show up at some point by a change in your echo despite anything you do."

And then I read: "HCM is frequently asymptomatic until sudden cardiac death, and for this reason some suggest routinely screening certain populations for this disease." "Once HCM has been identified in a family, it is advisable to have all immediate family members tested as soon as possible. Children often do not show signs of HCM and the first sign many children display is that of sudden cardiac arrest."

WTF?

If my weight gain alone hasn't provided an incentive to get healthier maybe this will be the shot in my ass to stay committed.

Remember that February is Heart and Stroke month. Get involved.