Spent half the day at the hospital!

Just some background... the male side of my (Kevin's) family does not have good genetics when it comes to heart health. So when I got the laser eye repair done in Tashkent in October and the cardiologist there said that both my blood pressure and my cholesterol were too high, I was a little concerned. 

And, the doctor had said to give it a couple of months and get my blood numbers checked again. So here we are in Malaysia where these tests can be done at a reasonable price. And I wanted to get some more tests done just to satisfy myself that there is not something more serious on the go.

On Wednesday, I applied for an appointment with a cardiologist at the big Gleneagles Hospital here in Penang. We were trying to figure out if we had time to get it done now, or if we have to return to Penang later on in the month.

They said I could do it at 10:30am Friday morning.

So this morning, Han and Michelle drove us to the hospital. Han was driving and he wasn't paying attention, so we made an inadvertent trip to the mainland when he turned onto the bridge on ramp by mistake! Fortunately we had planned a lot of extra time so the extra half hour drive didn't make us late at all.

We went to the outpatient admissions where they took my passport information and other personal data. Then up to the doctors office.

This is the place!

Turns out my doctor had spent two and a half years in Toronto during her early years. 

We spoke to her for a half an hour or so and she explained some things. I was mostly concerned about possible artery blockage, including the carotid artery. My blood pressure is still higher than it should be, but lower than what it was in Uzbekistan. So besides the blood work, we decided on four different heart tests including a CT scan angiogram, and ultrasound carotid artery scan.

We decided against the old standard stress test because it is only 70% accurate. The CT scan angiogram is 95% accurate, but is less invasive than the 100% accurate coronary angiogram.

Got the blood work done, then the ultrasound. Then they said I could go get some lunch since I had been fasting up to this point and was starving.

We found a kind of a Caesar salad for lunch. It was pretty good!

Then down for the CT scan angiogram. This is where the problem started. Your heartrate has to be 60 or below for the imaging to turn out properly. Mine started out at 81, which is no good. They kept telling me to relax, and I thought I was, but they had the air conditioning too low for my liking, and I was actually shivering which doesn't help the imaging.

So they give you some kind of medication to slow your heart rate. But then you have to wait a half an hour for it to take effect. In the meantime, they had also closed the air vents in the CT scan room, and brought in some blankets. The second time I tried, it was better, but the heart rate was still 71.

So they had to contact the cardiologist and get approval for a different medication and I had to take that. Then of course wait a half an hour before trying again. And of course every time you try, it takes quite a lot of time to get set up. Meanwhile, they've got this needle and fitting stuck in my arm because they run a dye into your system while doing the procedure. Anyhow, the third time took! Heart rate was down to 60, and I was nice and warm!

But with that now done, it was 4:15pm and there wasn't enough time to finish the other two tests. So we have to return Saturday morning for the other tests and another consultation with the doctor.

Really liked everybody at the hospital. And the efficient procedures for how they get everything done. I'll explain the final bill when we get it tomorrow.

We went for a walk to the waterfront before taking a Grab taxi back to the condo.

We see a lot of downtown properties where they have kept the original property but built a highrise around it.

Penang Island waterfront.

Our friends Han and Michelle had spent the day visiting relatives on the mainland. Michelle grew up in this area, so has a lot of relatives still here. It's her brother's weekend condo that we're all staying at.

We went out for another different dinner. They are sure showing us some interesting local foods!

This is a century duck egg. Strangely, it tastes a lot like a hard boiled egg!

You can read about them here... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg

Dinner!

Durian fruit for desert.

When you eat the durian fruit, you are actually eating the pulpy custard like substance that surrounds the seed.

Yes, it smells horrible just before you take your first bite. But after that we didn't really notice it.

Han says that if you get the fruit at the perfect time of year (June?) the smell will be worse, but the fruit will taste better! Very strange!

Tomorrow we are back to the doctor for 9:00am, but hopefully the results won't show anything serious and we'll finish up quickly and can get some more touring done.

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