I love hiking – but I am, evidently, not very good at it. I am really slow, compared to many other hikers. Going up Bell Mountain, I was over an hour behind my companions in reaching the campsite. But, I had a great adventure planned on October 15th – go down, resupply my friend who was hiking the Ozark Trail and hike a day with him/them (as others were joining). It was an adventure… but the day of the hike, I had to be rescued from the trial!
After being rescued, I made a doctor appointment to try to figure out WHY! It seems, after wearing a heart monitor for 14 days, that I have Atrial Fibrillation – which can cause fatigue and, worse, stroke! (due to blood clots forming in the heart making their way to the brain).
Changed heart doctor to get more information – which is fortunate, as new doctor communicates much better. At least, much better for a patient who is on the autism spectrum (very high functioning). So, got more info, like I did NOT have a heart attack, the damage to my heart was from prolonged high blood pressure, which was not controlled. Got higher doses of one of my medications, etc. Best of all, I was informed that hiking was a good thing to do, not avoid. But also, that one day a week is not enough exercise and I need to do cardio 45 minutes straight at least twice a week.
Not letting a little challenge stop me, I am already starting on a wee bit of cardiac rehab on my own.