+ 11 Heart health, see a cardiologist!!
Posting this up to try and save some lives here. The guys from the advanced forum know that I’ve been having some heart issues this last year. 8 months ago I had an abnormal ekg that an MD interpreted as a recent Myocardial Infarction aka heart attack. He wasn’t a cardiologist but said results like what he’d seen suggested there was a recent event. I was 35 at the time, and since I had been BB competitively for 15 years—it was very scary.
So for the last 8 months I’d lost weight/size, didn’t really blast cept one very short one, and got another ekg. Another abnormal reading this time it suggested left ventricular hypertrophy and possibly an enlarged heart at 36.
This time I decided to get in with a cardiologist to assess the damage, and see what type of beta blockers/ace inhibitors were needed to save my life. I looked around and finally got with a very well known cardiologist here on the West coast who works with athletes. His physician assistant checked me out and listened to my heart. She said everything sounded ok. Then the cardiologist did the same thing and said my heart sounded ok. He read the ekg I had done recently and said it wasn’t anything too crazy.
Just to rule out anything he ordered a stress test and echocardiogram. Prior to the stress test my HR was 81, and BP was 130/80. Neither terrible by any means...then they had me take off my shirt and hooked up about a dozen stickies to my chest and strapped on some things to my chest. The goal was to get my HR to 85% max, or about 165 beats per min. It took some time and they kept cranking up the incline and speed to achieve that (13.5 meps, I think the incline was 14 or 15 and speed was 4.5 mph, took about 15 min). This was healthy/normal. Then they had me hop off to take my BP. 155/91 at 85% max HR, not bad at all.
Then they did the echocardiogram. For anyone who doesn’t know it’s just like an ultrasound they do on a pregnant lady, but around the heart. Took about 20-30 minutes. The tech kept taking different images and measured everything. The results weren’t too bad at all. Slight lvh, ejection fraction was 50-55%, low to normal. The cardiologist read the results and cleared me with little to no damage to the heart.
My intention is to continue getting this done annually for life to be safe. No more blasting gear or competing. The whole thing was a wake up call and I’d suggest anyone who’s been in the game for any length to do the same to rule out any cardiovascular issues as they’re common with us users/abusers.
Oh and also worth mentioning that the tech who did my echo was preaching the importance of having balance between cardio and weights. Cardio is a lifesaver on so many levels. If it isn’t part of your program I’d encourage you do incorporate it regularly as your heart will thank you.
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Got all this done last year. Almost same scenario to the T except mine was a branch bundle block. The did the US and my ejection fraction was 65-70%. Was given the all clear. apparently the branch bundle block is relatively common. Either way it’s a pretty scary thing when the ekg comes back abnormal bro so I can relate.
Good to hear C. Damn 65-70% is great! I remember pm’ing each other recently and you mentioned being diligent about cardio. Do you think that’s why your EF was so high or?
I think it’s a big part. Plus the genetic predisposition with where my ancestors are from. there’s a long line of runners from that specific region of where my Indian ancestors are from bro. At one point i was a focused runner prior to age 30. I used to be able to run 10k @ 8 min mile avg. nothing crazy fast but i would do that 3x a wk.
Once I started focusing on the gym more and experimenting with high intensity and the 5x5 matrix and progressive overload principle I spent less and less time running. Saving all of my energy/glycogen on compound movements
I never did get a cause for the ekg abnormality however. Part of me thought it was something I was born with and other parts of me thought back of all the white colored drugs I did in my twenties. Then another part thinks it could be from gear usage. Then my cardiologist told me there are a lot of other people who have never done the things I’ve done and still have the same issue and live long healthy lives. So i did follow up bloodwork for anything and everything that would show heart health and I got a clean bill of health. I am looking at a yearly ekg to stay on top of things moving forward.
“and other parts of me thought back of all the white colored drugs I did in my twenties. Then another part thinks it could be from gear usage.”
Lol C-Los same man. When I had my scare I beat myself up for the exact same things feeling so guilty. I still can’t believe your EF was so high. I thought 50-55 was decent given the same above factors but to think yours was 65-70% I’m definitely going to do more cardio from this point in. I still can barely slow jog for 7-8min without getting winded but I’m working on it. I look funny jogging on the treadmill super awkward.
I’ll post up my test result in a bit here
Good post! It’s easy to sweep a side effect or a feeling under the rug and say your fine but going to get them checked out can save your life
It’s easy to get caught up in the all the gains and fun. Thanks for brining this as a reminder to us all about the health risks involved.
Glad you got your act together! A lot of guys need to pay more attention to this. Yes Cardio is vital in more ways than one! We gotta do it! Sometimes it's difficult, but that's no excuse!
Glad to hear brother.
Yea man. Most of the EF’s I see are in the 50-60 ranges. Worst one I saw was in the 30s. Needless to say. Yea he had issues.
That’s good you had no issue
Yea. I’ve started to talk to people at gym more and just blows me away how they run their cycles. Don’t bother to check labs, give blood, worry about liver issues. They will just blast and then cruise on their 250mg a week off cycle. PCT? What’s that. Blows my mind. And especially when I hear they are in their upper 20s or low 30s
At least this one dude is somewhat decent. I mean he PCTs.
Ha. I told him I was gonna start up my second cycle in March and he was asking me what I was gonna run. Told him basic Prop And E. He was like. That’s not a cycle you need some Tren. Ha. Told him I’m staying away from that for at least a year.
But yes. Sorry. Got off topic. Very important to monitor all that crap. Especially the Heart. Thanks for the post
And dammit. I want in on these advanced forums ha
I had EF of 27% a few years back. I hadn't run any cycles. I was on TRT, getting Nebido 1000mg every 3 months for 3 - 4 years. Massively enlarged heart, left ventricle valve wouldn't close, either. I had just gotten a new endocrinologist. He had added hCG and I was now getting 250mg of Test E a week. I was still training in boxing, Ju Justu, Wing Chun, and Dutch Kickboxing. 3 months later everything had returned to normal like it had never happened, no damage. My doctor told me that all the specialists thought I was going to die. I walked through it. I now have a EF is 70. I get checked out annually. HIIT cardio helped enormously, so did a little weed and YouTube videos of wins and fails.
Wow! That’s crazy. Did your enlarged heart return to normal size also?
So to confirm; you had been doing all the mma, nebido, and had the 27 EF. Then you incorporated more HIIT cardio and weekly shots and your EF went up to 70? Very interesting
That's about the whole of it. My heart return to normal size, the valve no longer leaks, no more arrhythmia. The doc said he couldn't tell that it had every been enlarged. He said that I had been walking through. The hCG seemed to make a big difference. I started doing a lot more cardio since I was now training boxing. I am stronger, faster now then ever. I will keep doing so until I drop as it keeps me alive.
Damn man!!! How the heck did it get so low? Was it the nebido?
How come 250mg a week as TRT?
It was a combination of factors, but mostly the Nebido. It gave me a spike in test levels in the first two weeks then I was left with nothing for 10 weeks. I thought steroids were a joke back then. Turns out, I have a high metabolic cleavage rate of the esters, so I run through my injections rather quickly. Hence, why I can get 250mg Test E a week for TRT.
Couldn’t agree more. While very effective, tren and longevity are like oil and water.
AnonGood deal brother, glad it worked out.
Achilles412Happy to hear you turned out ok my man. Reading your post is like a copy n paste from my own experience. Matter of fact I just had a ekg come back with an abnormality yesterday during a pre op for a quick elbow clean up. About a year and a half ago I decided to go see a cardiologist mainly because I was getting pretty intense acid reflux and I was sitting in the high 290s low 300s and also it was just time to grow up. I went years n years competing running way too many cycles with way too many compounds and flat out abusing these things since I was 21. So I ordered the ekg echo and also calcium deposits score. I failed the ekg but all other tests came back beautiful. Turned out I have a slight thickening of my left ventricle my blood pressure has always been low 130/70-80 range and all other issues that could left ventricle hypertrophy were ruled. So turns out I have “athletes heart” pretty much due to training hard my entire life. So what we perceive as healthy can actually effect us with out us even knowing. I too take many of the supplements you do just add in vitamin k2+d3 to help move any calcium out of the pipes and beet root juice because it is absolutely amazing for blood pressure levels. I also have and will continue to go to cardiologist annually or bi annually to make sure nothing takes a left turn on me. As far as competing you can still do it but super careful and be open with your cardiologist. Anabolic wise I chose to stay low no more heavy compounds or big cycles. Super glad you are healthy and glad you took the time to write this post to share some knowledge with guys as I feel heart health is the least looked at aspect of anabolic use so many guys worried about their sperm count meanwhile the heart is taking a beating. Everyone who trains hard uses these compounds and/or competes needs to see a cardiologist every year!!!!
Great reply +1. Good point on the beet root I’m going to add that in as well as I’ve been hearing great things.
I would look into vitamin k2 as well my brother, has great benefits for the heart
Achilles412Please do man it really is great stuff. So are you deciding to stop running any type of gear? Or do you plan on using anabolics
For now, yes. Should bloodwork show my testosterone levels under 250 ng/dL then I may consider TRT just to keep me in a healthy range.
What a great result, overall. Well done.
Yeah this is on my list for 2019. The second I am done with my next (possibly last) PCT I am clearing house and getting the works done to assess my heart.
Keep spreading the word man . +'s
I did the same thing after my last abnormal ekg (cleared house). I felt like Santa Claus giving all everything in ‘the box’ to my friends. It was a very good feeling.
If my test levels come back under norm I may supplement HRT but only if absolutely necessary.
Good news at least you didn’t actually suffer a heart attack. Onward and upward
Thanks Darth much appreciated brother.
Supplements I now take for prevention/heart health;
Omega 3’s; 3000mg+/day
Ubiquinol 100mg/day
Vitamin C 2000mg/day
Multivitamin/multimineral
Vitamin D 7000iu during winter
Curcumin 300mg/day
I’m leaving some out but I’ve also started incorporating the following and feel amazing;
Green drink post workout containing the following;
(All raw in a blender)
1C egg whites
1.5C greens drink
3 C kale
1 C broccoli
2 celery stalks
1/2 cucumber
2 packets of ester C
1 scoop of superfoods greens
1 packet pink lemonade crystal light
1T coconut oil (helps with absorption of vitamins)
Been feeling amazing on this, credit to Mike O’Hearn.