Radiation

At the doctors office I was waiting for my appointment and picked up a Health magazine. I read an article about being over exposed to radiation with CT scans and other medical tests. (click Healtharticle) These medical procedures can mutate DNA that in the future cause cancer. The article basically was advising people to think twice about running these types of tests since we are already exposed to natural radiation. The numbers add up and take a toll on your body. So, I pocketed this new knowledge and told myself I would do that.

So there I am sitting in the examination room with one of the best cardiologists around when he says to me...that running this cardio stress test with thallium that my yearly exam through EHE suggested I do, is not a good idea. He said if I were his sister he would not let me do this procedure. Why you ask? Well, thallium is radiation and although not a huge amount, in studies the number of cancer cases were significant enough to cause worry.

So he suggested a much safer stress test already set up for next week that is much safer and will give us the information we need about my heart murmur.

I was really pleased with this guy not only because of what he suggested but also because he was so thorough in trying to figure out why a person my age with the stats I have is sitting in this office. His thoroughness also went into explaining his train of thought and the science behind the heart. It was really interesting.