My son proposed to his girlfriend today and now they are engaged. We met her parents and family members today and enjoyed our time together over lunch. Two families coming together and establishing a new bond is comforting and encouraging. We hope and pray that it will lead to a meaningful journey for them.

 

New phone day…. Usually, not a big deal and I’ve generally gotten a low end phone. My current one is 32gb and I’m constantly fighting basic space issues, synch issues, texts and emails…. So I went to a current model. My iPad has cell service too and I tend to use that more anyway. Welcome to 2024 Gary!

 

Wife and I picked up new Pixel 9 Pro XLs retiring our pixel 6 pro phones.
storage is 512 Gigabytes. 48-50 MP camera depending on mode.

 

I have had a mild heart murmer for quite some time, so my primary care doctor thought I should get an echocardiogram just to make sure everything was still ok.
I just got the results from the radiologist, and as far as I can tell, I am still doing ok. (Thanks Mayo.com for the interpretation!)
I am really happy that my BP is consistently 125/70 with an average heart rate of 62, and I am nowhere near in what you would call good shape.

 

Good news Gene, now from one robust guy to another, get out and do some walking.
I'd say climb some hills but I understand the Delaware difficulty.

 

The fact your average heart rate is 62 is an indicator you were or still are in good physical shape. People who never had an exercise regime are 75-85 average rate.
A heart "murmur" is a catch all phrase. It is like someone saying a car is making a funny noise. It can be PVCs or even evidence of stenosis on a valve which could be caused by your aortic valves being bicuspid instead of tricuspid. An ultrasound can give a better idea on the later with MRAs being the gold standard.
An ultrasound is inexpensive compared to other tests. You might even want an ultrasound of your carotids. That can be an indicator of how your coronary arteries are doing. If your carotids are 75% blocked, guess how your heart is doing!
I have done mine twice and they are 0% to just above zero blockage. I have light calcification. My father's were so blocked (>95%) he had them removed and replaced. As he had multiple MIs and smaller strokes, I went on a campaign in my twenties to eradicate heart disease in myself. So far so good but the taking of Ciprofloxacin 3 times dilated my aortic root. This has no been identified as a serious side effect of these antibiotics. They destroy connective tissue. I also injured my achilles tendon at the time. That side effect was listed on the bottle.

 

I had the joy of taking cipro while on steroids.
The steroids suppressed my reaction to the cipro, that is until I completed taking the steroids and blossomed like a flower.
I was taking an evening class in Stochastic Processes at the time. it was a really tough course with complex variables and differential complex equations.
They put me on some high powered antihistamines. I swear I just sat there drooling for two weeks and I had to drop the course.
Ironically the doctor who had put me on them blew out his achilles.

 

To cosmo's comments:
I am almost 80 years old (how did that happen???) so I am happy with my results.
Since I am an ex smoker (quit 40 years ago-3 packs a day), I had my carotoid arteries scanned and my abdominal artery ultrasound scanned some years ago and they were all fine.
There was no stenosis found and the valves were all normal.
I'll wait for my doctor to read the report, but I think I'm fine.

BTW, I had a goal to be a professional pilot, but heredity got in the way: I am red/green colorblind. I was able to fool the Army for 3 years so got to fly helicopters, but there was no way I could pass an unrestricted flight physical in the real world, so I had to be happy with a private license. I still think the colorblindness requirement is ridiculous, based on my combat and private flying experience. Oh, well.