Yearly Visit to my Cardiologist

I'd forgotten my yearly appointment until I got the reminder call yesterday. Today I talked with my cardiologist, had my blood pressure checked and had a stress test.

First off, my cardiologist was less then impressed with my last lipid profile. He explored whether I would be willing to increase the Crestor dosage from 2.5mg. I declined citing the side effects that I had suffered previoiusly on an increased statin dosage - skin eruptions (which hint of return currently). There a a couple of spots on my left hand which I will discuss with my dermatologist in a few weeks.

I did say that I would starting taking Niaspan again. I did that this evening starting with 500 mg (one tablet)

Looking at my lipid results from last November, I, too, am less than impressed. All were in normal range except the CHLOL/HDL ration which was 5. My LDL was 126 after having been as low as 77 earlier. I can see why my cardiologist wanted to up the statin.

Off course, I've been on a bread-making kick and have indulged in cheese, dairy, snacks, and red meat. Maybe I can cut back. I certainly did in China. Maybe make only one loaf a week; cut down on open-ended snacking. Try to reproduce the China environment.

I think I see Sharma in 4-5 months. Maybe get the Niaspan to 2-3 per day by then. Maybe cut down on portions or cut out a meal every 3-5 days. Substitute soup or fruit.

See if I can get a 165 CHOL; 45 HDL, and 100 Triglycerides. Maybe 85 for LDL. That would be a good result. 3.67 would be the ratio. Better than the  187; 35; 153, and 126 for LDL's last November.

My Blood Pressure was up to 142/88 even after some waiting. I did the stress test, which got me breathing pretty well. I rested after that and the Dr checked again. Sure enought it had dropped to 119 or so. But it took exercise to do that. Otherwise, it would have stayed up there. It had spiked and didn't come down until coaxed. I appreciated the Drs patience on this. No need for further BP medicine. But this shows the importance of light exercise. It would be good to get into the cardio zone at least once a day to deal with the "spike."  I need to think aboutt this.