Amlodipine (Journeys Under Hypertension)
36 images Created 24 Jan 2020
Coinciding with my sixtieth birthday and the arrival by post, of a London 60+ Oyster travel pass, came the news during a routine health check, that I had standard hypertension (high blood pressure).
The numbers were breathtaking and weeks of daily monitoring by the surgery nurse ("You're a very busy man, Mr Baker!"), showed my otherwise healthy and efficient heart was nonetheless pumping harder than was safe, especially within the left ventricle which had thickened slightly - a sign that the numbers needed to change.
The good news was that after a lifetime of decent eating and exercise, along with an active life, not much needed to change.
"Just take the pill," advised my GP.
And so began a series of journeys with two new best friends - a plastic smart card tucked in a pocket and the other, a tiny sample of chemistry that's currently coursing through my capillaries. One gives me free daily rides on trains, buses and trams, while the other is prolonging my life.
Equipped with a plan of the capital's transport routes I have commenced an exploration of stops that I've otherwise bypassed over the decades. Early pictures taken have been taken either side of frantic calls from the nurse, not too subtlety making sure I was still alive, while latterly, others are recorded knowing that I'm giving my heart an easier, a more comfortable ride.
While under that spell (or hammer), we both travel healthily and hopefully.
The numbers were breathtaking and weeks of daily monitoring by the surgery nurse ("You're a very busy man, Mr Baker!"), showed my otherwise healthy and efficient heart was nonetheless pumping harder than was safe, especially within the left ventricle which had thickened slightly - a sign that the numbers needed to change.
The good news was that after a lifetime of decent eating and exercise, along with an active life, not much needed to change.
"Just take the pill," advised my GP.
And so began a series of journeys with two new best friends - a plastic smart card tucked in a pocket and the other, a tiny sample of chemistry that's currently coursing through my capillaries. One gives me free daily rides on trains, buses and trams, while the other is prolonging my life.
Equipped with a plan of the capital's transport routes I have commenced an exploration of stops that I've otherwise bypassed over the decades. Early pictures taken have been taken either side of frantic calls from the nurse, not too subtlety making sure I was still alive, while latterly, others are recorded knowing that I'm giving my heart an easier, a more comfortable ride.
While under that spell (or hammer), we both travel healthily and hopefully.
