Cardio clearance

Before the surgery, I need to get a multitude of health clearances from different specialists. The clearances are to say that my body is healthy enough to physically handle the stress of surgery.

These are the clearances I need:
General Medical Clearance (Bloodwork)
Nutritionist Clearance
Psychologist Clearance
Cardiology Clearance (EKG)
Pulmonary Clearance (Chest Xray)

Today I woke up early and reluctantly trekked in traffic to the "Fort Lauderdale Heart Group" for my cardio clearance. The office building was boring but hidden, luckily I have GPS. Once you get off the elevator, you are smack in the waiting room (kind of odd). The waiting room was full of old people even at 9am; I must have been the only person under 60. It was decorated like an old man's smoke room or something: everything was wooden and leather. The chairs, a loveseat, wooden walls and a huge wooden clock. It smelled like dead cow. I had to wait about 30 (very long) min. The office is home to a dozen heart doctors. There was literally a card holder with a dozen different doctors' cards in it on the front desk. It's probably a goldmine.

The nurse had me basically strip and attached the EKG machine to me, it printed out my EKG in like 2 seconds. I was nervous because Mom and Dad both have heart murmurs but I don't, apparently. After more waiting, the doctor came in. He was middle aged, very intelligent - you could tell. He had a good handshake at least. He said my EKG looked great. Then he listened to my heart for awhile and took my blood pressure (perfect again!). He said my heart sounds and looks healthy, probably due to my age. He said if I kept this weight on as I got older, it would definitely cause heart problems. So he supports my surgery decision, which was nice.

After a brief physical exam, he launched into a 25 minute spiel about eating healthy for life and exercising. He told me the diet habits following the surgery as if I haven't even heard it before. His eyes opened in shock when I told him I make effort to regularly exercise, even if it's just a long walk with the dogs. It boggles my mind how people automatically think fat = unhealthy habits. I know he wasn't trying to be mean, but still...

Wednesday is my Pulmonary clearance and then I'm done with my clearances. One week from tomorrow is surgery. Eek.

**EDIT**

Photo of the cardiologist.