2 year cardio checkup

Iz had her biannual cardiology workup this morning.  She had an EKG and Echocardiogram and then we visited with her cardiologist.

She has no changes to her treatment plan and no restrictions, which is fantastic.  We like hearing that things are fairly stable.  We like hearing that we don't need to add in any medications or monitoring.  We like hearing that she can stay on her every two years schedule.

But I'd be lying if I said this visit hasn't left me with some pretty severe anxiety.  Yes, she's doing well.   Yes, she gets to continue living her life as she has been these last few years.  Yes, she's clear to keep on keeping on.

But for the first time since she recovered from surgery, for the first time in over five years, for the first time since she left the hospital, her heart is worse than it was the last visit.  The changes are minor, so minor that her cardiologist isn't worried, so minor that she doesn't need to come back early for monitoring, so minor that she doesn't need to do anything differently,  but it is still a step in the wrong direction.  It is still an undesirable trend.  It is still not as good as last time.

Her echo was great.  Her EKG is showing some issues with the electrical system.  We got a list of symptoms to watch for--if we see any of them, we go back for a checkup.  We got a reminder of the importance of her scheduled checkups.  More than one reminder--Dr B may have said its not really a big deal right now but he repeated four times throughout the visit that we MUST keep her next appointment to get a new EKG and checkup.  Which, of course I was going to do anyway.  I keep a reminder in my phone about setting up the new appointment when the time comes (Oct 2019 will remind me to schedule the next November appointment).

So I keep reminding myself it was a good visit.  Don't borrow trouble.  And in two years, hope things have swung back to the "getting better" side of things.