Another Day, Another Diagnosis

I saw a cardiologist today regarding the results from my heart testing that started way back in August '11.
At that time, it wasn't something they wanted me to worry about until after chemo was done.
I'm ready to tackle it now.

My diagnosis is Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy.
It's a rare condition that is considered a birth defect. Of 10,000 echocardiograms performed, it's found in approximately 4-25 people.

Here's a picture I found online that is much better than my doctor's chicken scratch diagram.

Notice on the right side of the picture how there are wavy pieces on the bottom?
That's what my wonky heart looks like.
In utero, everyone's heart looks like that. As babies develop, the heart should all become smooth. Mine didn't. I also have a big heart. (duh!)

Because of the wavy things, I have a lower ejection fraction, meaning my heart doesn't pump as efficiently as it should.

My ejection fraction is not that much lower than normal, so it's not a huge concern yet. Many times this goes undiagnosed and causes no problems for people.
For others, it causes blood clots, strokes and could even cause damage and/or death of the heart tissue.

Since I was lucky enough to find out about mine, I'm able to go on a daily beta blocker called Metoprolol and a low dose aspirin. He thinks I will probably be on these for the rest of my life.
I will also have check ups every 3 months.

He didn't tell me I needed a pacemaker, open heart surgery or a transplant anytime soon...so overall, today was a good day!

The cardiologist said I should continue life as normal and didn't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to run the Color Run 5k in July that Eric and I signed up for. Being fit is the best thing I can do for my body.

Time to start training!

Radiation starts tomorrow. I'm excited to start because then I'll be one treatment closer to the end. I'm hoping it goes fast.