Crossing a New Bar

Well an interesting event seems to be occurring and I am the unwilling participant. Five months ago I knew I was past 60, however I still felt that I could lose weight, exercise and carry on as I had years ago. Then, a colonoscopy revealed a suspicious mass that turned out to be malignant. However surgery was successful, the malignancy had not spread and I was pronounced well by an oncologist. In the meantime I had a recovery to make, which was and is rather rigorous. Then eight weeks after surgery an old problem reared its head, atrial fibrillation, or arrhythmia. The last episode I had of that was 16 or 18 years ago. I have taken medication for all that time, but apparently the stress and trauma of surgery brought about a recurrence. Now I take another pill.

So what is this "New Bar?" I feel vulnerable to those things I thought were not of my time. Will my heart arrhythmia cause further serious problems. I have no heart muscle damage, my cholesterol is within limits, I've had two heart caths that indicated no blockage, and as recently as December as part of my pre-op procedures I had an stress test and echo-cardiogram that supported no blockages. I am sure my risk of serious heart problems rise above that of someone with no arrhythmia but should I feel so vulnerable. Perhaps time and getting used to the new rhythms will ease my discomfort. For now I feel age bearing on my shoulders.