I'm sitting here looking out the window of my den trying to gear up for my stress test. For those of you not familiar with a stress test, it's when you go to your heart doctor and get on a treadmill and walk and walk and walk and then hopefully run and run some more. This is probably my 5th stress test since February 9, 2004. I was 33 then. I'm 38 now. I have heart doctors.
It's been 5 years without a blip on the radar. And then Sunday, a blip. I had a heart attack 5 years ago. I can't believe it. I was 33 and healthy, or so I thought. I use healthy in the way I think most people do: I exercised regularly, I wasn't overweight, I didn't have high blood pressure and...I was only 33. But apparently there is more to health than the obvious. You take a family history of both parents with heart issues and add that to a stressful job, relationship, you fill in the blank, and it can be a recipe for disaster.
One thing I did know about myself, that I've known since I was 16, is that I am HIGHLY anemic. I remember going to my mother's doctor and her telling my mom, "I'm surprised she can even walk around during the day based on how anemic she is." Wow. I didn't take it too seriously then. I was very active. I was a cheerleader, on the track team and had a job at McDonald's after school (when I wasn't cheering or running). Unfortunately, I continued to not take it seriously for the rest of my life. I tried iron pills and they made me sick, so I stopped taking them. One thing I didn't know about myself until the heart attack is that my cholesterol was through the roof. Another thing I didn't get. I love a good hamburger as much as the next girl, but it wasn't a lifestyle. None of that mattered. I was one of those poor blokes that was gonna get what I was gonna get because of heredity. Plain and simple. Well that sucks.
On Sunday I was sitting down on the couch watching the tube when my chest felt really heavy...again. My left arm started hurting....again. I got clammy....again. Oh no. Damnit.
Fast forward after the ambulance and the nitro under my tongue and those thingy's stuck to my chest.....it wasn't a heart attack. My anemia was in full force and I was really stressed. Anxiety. My doctor's advice....change your life. You see, unfortunately for me, I've got to change EVERYTHING about my life. Because I am predisposed to this heart stuff, I've got to take it to the extreme. I have no choice if I want to see my daughter start kindergarten in 3 years or watch my son graduate from high school in 4 years. I.have.no.choice.
So, I'm starting anew, kinda like that flowering bush up there. Spring has sprung and hopefully, so will I. A complete diet change and new exercise regimen. I guess exercising 5 days a week as it is isn't good enough. I think I've got to exercise smarter, not just more. Oh boy, I'm kinda scared. Wish me luck.
