I had a follow up visit to the consultant this morning and he gave some disappointing news. It appears that I have a slightly enlarged chamber in my heart which he tells me is often the first sign of cardiomyopathy.
The size of the enlargement is only just above their threshold to cause concern and he's prescribed a one-a-day, low dosage drug which is intended to reduce the demand on my heart. He admits it's possible that's just how I am made and in his words, looking at you, you're a big bloke, so there's nothing to say that isn't the case.
Nevertheless he tells me I have to give up competitive sport (I hated to tell him my rugby career ended 22 years ago) and I cannot do strenuous weight training. That's no problem as I'm trying to lose weight and bulk so I can run faster. Two of the positives from today were my weight and blood pressure. My weight has remained constant, which means that all of the bulk I've lost (an inch off my collar and 3 inches off my chest) has been replaced by muscle. My blood pressure is down to 139/80 which is great for my age.
The consultant tells me I'm still ok to run. I explained how hard I make my heart work during training and he said that was fine. It was only if I had my heart working at that level for prolonged periods that I might have an issue. So it looks like I'll never represent my country at rugby ... :-)
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