Heart update

The specialist in Sydney called and confirmed that my scans at the moment are only showing very minor enlargement of the aorta, and there's nothing more I can do other than get checked every few years. The only way they can confirm anything is to compare the genes in my aorta (or the fibrillin or something...) against someone else in my family who has the condition. Unfortunately, since everyone in my family who has had it as far as we know is dead, they can't really do much. Tests to check for other causes of the condition are still very much developmental and aren't in the clinical stage yet.

He also said that the way they think this gene works, that I have a 50/50 chance of having it. So he said because of that, triathlon is definitely not a good idea, and neither is anything that gets my heart rate over about 130 or so, as the combination of high heart rate/high blood pressure brought on by exercise could cause a rupture if I do have it, even though it looks fine at the moment. :(

But... he said swimming is fine, and jogging was fine as long as I wear my HRM and watch my heart rate, and I didn't ask about cycling as I thought I was pushing my luck, but that doesn't generally get my heart rate too high, so if I just monitor that, it should be ok. So, maybe I can still do triathlons, but just deal with the fact that I will always come last and that I'm doing it for fun and fitness, not to win. Maybe I'll need to stick to OD races, and try to curb my competitive streak.