Height/Weight: Re: [geeks] quiet

[Eric Dittman]

> http://www.k-huhn.com/images/kurtinthekitchen.jpg
>...
> http://www.k-huhn.com/images/jordyandkenzie.jpg

Everyone looks fit and healthy to me.

People put too much into the weight issue.  I'm packing a
few extra pounds, and my wife has been on me to lose some
weight, which I'd like to do, but I am healthy.  I know
this for a fact.

A couple of years ago my father was having some minor chest
pain.  When he went to the doctor for a test he ended up
being rushed over for emergency bypass surgery.  The problem
wasn't due to his exercise or eating habits, but rather
due to a genetic flaw in the artery that supplies blood
to the heart.  The artery was a bit smaller that it should
be, so with heavy exertion his heart wasn't getting enough
blood, causing the chest pains.  All the years before he
thought he just had a lot of heartburn.  If the doctor
he had seen this time had just gone on the normal indicators
the problem would never have been noticed.  It took a cardiac
stress test with ultrasound to diagnose the problem.  The
problem had been going on for so long that he ended up having
some slight damage to his heart.

The upshot, though, was that all of his children had to have
the same tests to make sure we didn't inherit the problem.  If
we did we would have had to had bypass surgery as well to avoid
heart damage later.  Bypass surgery is dangerous, so having it
done when the heart is undamaged is better than having it done
later.  Fortunately all of us were clear.

The results of my test are that I have a strong heart that
has 106% normal capacity.  The stress test involves exercising
on a treadmill that increases in speed and incline every five
minutes.  When you get too tired to continue, you stop and
get a second ultrasound (the first is before you start).  Most
people quite before the end of the third set; I was still going
strong after 20 minutes.  The tech stopped the test anyway since
I was showing no signs of tiring.

I've got a strong heart and my arteries aren't showing any
blockage.  I may be overweight, and have high cholesterol,
but I am showing no signs of decreased health due to either.

Pass me a big steak with a loaded baked potato.  I'll have
cheesecake for dessert.
-- 
Eric Dittman
dittman at dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/