Hanging with smart people

You know, it's funny.  I have these periodic checkups with my heart specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and I actually look forward to them.  No, it's not that I look forward to hearing I need surgery or some other delicate procedure -- fortunately I've only had one of each.  But, justified or not, I feel I'm in good hands.  I appreciate the thought my doctors put into the issues I've had, their candor, their wisdom, and simply, their intelligence.

That said, I had a routine checkup this week with Dr. Cameron.  The hope, and indeed the finding, is my aortic root has stayed the same size since my checkup last October.  The longer it remains stable, the longer it looks like it will remain so.  My next checkup on this won't be for another 18 months (instead of 12), and I can lay off the CT scan's radiation and just get an MRI.  Great news.

Ann Marie and I also discussed with Dr. Cameron my sense that my exercise threshold has dropped over the last year.  With that, I have an appointment early October with Dr. Ringel, the specialist that put in a stent to resolve my narrowed pulmonary artery in October, 2009.  Back then I'd get winded walking up stairs, where now it's when I run up them (after, say, 3 or so flights).  That's a definite drop from late 2009 and the first half of 2010, so we're going to see if things have narrowed since the procedure.  It's not uncommon, Dr. Cameron said, for this strong muscle (the heart) to squeeze the stainless steel stent somewhat.  We shall see.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, enjoy the time you spend with smart people :-)