So I finally paid a visit to a cardiologist.
Upon sitting down, I explained to him that I was a cyclist, regularly riding about 100 kilometers a week, with varying levels of training load. I had signed up for the December 2022 Subic-Masinloc-Subic audax, but I contracted COVID19 a month and a half prior to the event, and I wanted to know how fit I still was to participate.
His advice was pretty encouraging. At my age, there shouldn’t be any problems emerging out of COVID19 and resuming my usual level of activity. The cycling friends I had asked were considerably older than me, most of them in their fifties, and so were at the age where getting tests like a 2D echocardiogram and blood work was standard operating procedure, even without COVID19. Still, he recommended that I get the aforementioned tests so that I could have a better idea of what my condition was.
The blood work came first. No surprise there, as it’s routine and very quickly done, without any need for scheduling in advance, unlike the 2D echocardiogram and treadmill stress test I was supposed to do. It had returned fine, although I had just breached high cholesterol territory and my liver enzymes were about as high. While these need some attention, they’re not urgent concerns and are ultimately secondary findings to what I was really after. Everything else seemed good though.
More relevant for my purposes was getting a 2D echocardiogram and treadmill stress test. This required booking, but I was able to have both done on the same day. Release of the results kept me in suspense for a couple more days. I was pretty sure of the treadmill stress test, as it required walking/jogging intervals of three minutes each as it gradually ramped up to my theoretical maximum heart rate of 181 bpm. I was jogging at 184 bpm and completing the final interval before the attending doctor stopped the test.
Ultimately, both tests yielded good results. The doctor told me he couldn’t guarantee COVID19 didn’t have a negative impact, but whatever it may have been had already up and left. As of right now at least, I am in possession of a healthy, normally functioning heart.
With these findings, and my recovery from COVID19, I have a medical go-ahead to ride the audax. If you’re reading this and plan to join the ride, and I’ve heard there are quite a few people who plan to do so, I hope to see you there.
the accidental randonneur 