I saw my cardiologist yesterday.
I was his second appointment of the day so I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait as long as I normally do to see him.
It started off well, when I had barely gotten comfortable in the waiting room and a nurse called my name and led me to the examining room.
But it was not to be. I still had to wait over half an hour before the doctor showed up. At least it wasn’t an hour or more like it usually is, so I know I should be glad.
Anyway, the visit went well. I told him the spike in my cholesterol in the recent blood test was my fault, as I had been testing the limits of the statin medication by eating bacon and lots of butter. Since seeing the results, I’ve stopped the bacon and cut down on butter. Back to my usual diet.
We also discussed the baby aspirin and my concerns about. I told him about my reading the article that baby aspirin wasn’t recommended for patients who had not yet had heart attacks because it could cause bleeding in the brain, but before he could stop me, I went on. I explained that when I stopped the baby aspirin my ziggies went wild, so I resumed taking the baby aspirin in order to fight the ziggies.
He told me he’s well aware of the risks with baby aspirin but he thinks it’s worth it in my case because the CT scan showed that I have a lot more calcium buildup in a place where it’s not good to have a calcium buildup. He quoted some numbers that I’m trying to forget because they sounded ominous. He also said that some of his other patients have told him that the baby aspirin helps them control the ziggies, so I guess I’m not alone. No one is alone, truly.
Other than that, he thinks I’m doing well, and he seems to think I shouldn’t worry about the calcium—as long as I take the baby aspirin.
We discussed some other things, and in general had a nice talk. He’s basically my favorite doctor. If only I didn’t have to wait so long to see him each time.
He’ll see me again in a year and on the way out I made an appointment.
Next year I’ll be his first patient of the day.