It has been 13 weeks since surgery. I have been walking most days for at least an hour. My resting heart rate and blood pressure vary at different times. And it has been difficult to decide how much to push myself from fat burn to cardio/peak heart rate territory.

I used to get to a peak rate of 165 beats per minute in October, quite appropriate for my age range. And all this had to be stopped. This is complicated by the medicines like beta-blockers that I take to reduce my heart rate which does not allow standard heart rate tables to apply. Until today.

I had my first post-op treadmill test. And I was able to easily able to take my heart rate to a sustained rate of 145 beats per minute, without any pain. I could have pushed further but couldn’t because I am still woefully out of shape. The heart rate limits were adjusted downwards to account for the beta-blockers that I consume.

So, this was excellent news and a milestone. I look forward to starting my cardio rehab soon that will allow me to build my strength and stamina back over the next six months.

I am thankful for getting here today.