Stress test
So yesterday was my 38th birthday (thanks to those of you who have sent me e-cards and so forth), and I celebrated by going to the hospital and having a stress test done. This is pretty standard procedure for my doctor's diabetic patients, she told me. As diabetes can cause vascular problems, it's important to make sure my heart's in good shape.
To do this, what they do is hook you up to an EKG machine -- they made me take my shirt off and they attached these sticky pads all over my chest, then plugged the pads into a machine using a large cable -- and they have you walk on a treadmill. Every couple of minutes the speed of the treadmill increased and the incline also increased. Meantime a cardiologist is monitoring the machine and a technician is checking your blood pressure.
As it turns out, I'm not having any heart trouble, fortunately, though I am pathetically out of shape.