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High Cardiac Calcium Score while on Statins
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Jun 13 5:41pm | Replies (22)Comment receiving replies
I just had a calcium score done and it was 710. I am 68 and am on medication for high blood pressure & Cholesterol. I was diagnosed with hypertension when I was 30 and put in medication. My Dad had hypertension and open heart surgery at 64. He passed 12 years later. My Mom and my grandmom, her mother both passed of a heart attack in their sleep at 58. My mother was not being treating as she would not go to the doctor, my grandmother was being treated for heart issues. In January of this year, my LDL is 98, total cholesterol is 186, HDL is 74, my blood pressure runs 131/76. I do have moderate aortic atherosclerosis. I know that score is high, Using the Mesa calculator it states I have a 13.5% 10 risk CHD event. I am assuming that is high risk. I had a stress test last year & passed and an EKG in April before my hip replacement 5/8 and everything was good. If you go by the internet, I will be dead in 3 years. Before my hip replacement, I was walking 2 miles, 3 times per week. Not sure what to believe.
Replies to "I just had a calcium score done and it was 710. I am 68 and am..."
Are you seeing a preventive cardiologist? As a fellow victim of bad genes with a high CAC score, I noticed the same things as mayoconnectuser1. The BP seems a little high and I was told by a preventive cardiologist at Mayo to get my LDL down to 50. I couldn't get there through lifestyle changes and ended up taking a statin.
Lots of people live many years with a high CAC score and never have a problem. I take stock in that. Regardless, all you can do is everything you can to keep it from progressing. No one can predict what will happen to any single person. See someone that can help you identify the best path forward. "Beat the Heart Attack Gene" by Bale and Doneen describes things that you can do to fight your genetics. (It doesn't eliminate the need to talk with a cardiologist though.)
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"Believe" is sort of the wrong word to use.
There are so many differences between humans and their genetic makeup.
You didn't note:
- BMI
- metrics from stress test
- whether you are taking statins, and for how long
- triglycerides
Given your CAC score you should lower your LDL. Your BP might be considered to be a bit high, as well.
Consider getting an advanced lipids panel done ... sometimes called Cardio IQ by Quest.
A "stress with echo" would also be helpful to assess, as well as a nuclear stress test.