Shrinking heart

Current mood: firmly resolved to Move It

My heart! She is healthy! -ier, even! Apparently, shrinking your heart is a good thing, at least, according to my cardiologist. One might think that nice, wide-open vessels would be better, but no, more petite vessels are currently in vogue. Even your heart needs to lose weight!

I found out something interesting. The incidence of exercise-like cardio is actually more important than the duration. Thus, rather than my 3X per week, hour-long plus workout sessions, the doctor (an earnest and alert, neatly-pressed older gentleman with an encouragingly good-example, weedy physique) recommended 15 minutes per day, 6X a week. Apparently once that is achieved, some optimum of heart stimulation leading to increased cardiological health is reached. He dismissed lifting and stretching as "stuff you do to get dates" (I may have paraphrased a little). To forestall protest that 6X per week is difficult to achieve (which it is, considering the rigmarole of packing the gym bag, changing clothes, fighting traffic, and getting a parking space - but I wasn't actually going to protest. 15 minutes really isn't all that long and I am more than capable of gyrating in front of the TV for half of a sitcom. I already spend most of 24 jumping up and down anyway.) he suggested running in place. I have to say, picturing my doctor running in place in his tie and jogging shorts in front of the TV was one of the funnier visual places I've been sent to in recent memory...