← Return to Should I worry about a high Calcium score

Discussion

Should I worry about a high Calcium score

Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Mar 22 6:50pm | Replies (44)

Comment receiving replies
@wagbert1

Thank you for responding. It’s very much appreciated. So here is my back story. I’m an Engineer so I read and think in terms of preventative rather than reactive. I have never really had heart problems. In 2017 started having palpitations and just overall felt sensations, had a holter 48 hr holter, no problems, echo Cardiogram, no big issues, normal thickening but nothing of concern, regular stress test every year for past 5 years, no issues, echocardiogram 2 weeks ago before my calcium test, just because it was my 5 year echo, no significant difference from baseline. I am on blood pressure medication and it’s controlled (115-125 / 70-80) most days. So really no past significant heart issues. Just a history of high cholesterol that’s been under control for 20 years. I did the CT calcium simply as preventative thinking it would be fine, boy was I shocked. So the doc has ordered a nuclear stress test (hope that will be able to detect blockages) and we’ll go from there, the part bothering me the most is I feel like with this new information/high CAC that I could drop dead before the nuclear stress test, a timebomb so to speak. Can anyone reassure me that’s no exactly the case? PCP upped my Lipitor to 80 mg from 40, that’s it so far, anyone been put on blood thinners as preventative? Any thoughts on any of this would be appreciated.

Jump to this post


Replies to "Thank you for responding. It’s very much appreciated. So here is my back story. I’m an..."

You may be pleasantly surprised, and like me, confused. I'm in the 75% (worst) percentile in the CAC score, but my nuclear stress test, echocardiogram, etc., are all normal. My cardiologist says the calcified plaque which is hard, is better than the soft kind, which breaks off easily and causes issues. I'm also on 80 mg Lipitor plus 10 mg Zetia, and more recently, Repatha, which is an injectable every 2 weeks. You might want to ask for the blood tests that show what's the makeup of your LDL: Lipoprotein B, Lp(a), etc., and also the high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein tests, to get a full picture of your risk profile.