Extremely high calcium score at 42 - is there any positive here??

which drug? I've been doing the same with brand Lipitor. It appears perhaps they will pay in 2024 according to, now on, Medicare. I will find out if Part D shows the drug and price then I can buy it at that price.
Generics are permitted to use any fillers/buffers/additives they wish. Most ingredients come from China and India. Zero regulation or testing. Plenty are articles on the subject in BusinessWeek/Bloomberg and WaPro.

So I haven't been here in a long time, but I started this thread originally in the summer of 22 when, at age 42, I learned that my calcium score was 397. I figured I'd update my situation for anyone curious/who stumbles on this at some point.

Basically: I had a very rough summer and fall in '22, losing myself in endless internet research, consultation with specialists, reading all of the compelling/contradictory diet advice from experts, having tests and scans done, etc. Eventually, I realized that the man who invented the calcium score, Dr. Arthur Agatston, is still in practice. So I became his patient.

This was almost exactly a year ago, and when I did, I calmed down fairly quickly. This was because I was very confident in him and he was up to speed on all of the latest research, testing and imaging and puts it to use in his practice. In short, he did advanced bloodwork that looked not just at my basic lipid profile, but at cholesterol particle size, "pre-pre-diabetes," and other things I have since learned a lot about. I also had a Cleerly scan done, and he works closely with them so he's as knowledgeable as anyone can be when it comes to interpreting results. What he found was encouraging: The Cleerly scan (as I think I mentioned in some earlier post here) showed 2/3 of my plaque was already calcified, and the other 1/3 was considered non-calcified -- and, crucially, that *none* was low-density/soft plaque, the least stable kind and the type most likely to cause a rupture and clot. And the bloodwork looked terrific. Low LDL particle count, very low small particle count, etc. And no diabetes, pre-diabetes or "pre-pre-diabetes." (I had taken a blood test in the fall of '22 that showed a high glucose number, but it proved to be a one-off and was probably the result of having eaten something too rich the night before). So Dr. A. felt that I had a fairly stable situation -- one that would only improve as I spent more time on the statin (I'd already gotten LDL to 51) , continued to improve diet and maintain weight loss (I've lost and kept 35 pounds off since this started and am at a weight I haven't seen in years), and took one more drug known to arrest plaque formation and stabilize existing plaque: Fenofibrate. This was December '22 and I left feeling very upbeat for the first time, and stayed that way for months to come, believing we actually did have a handle on this.

But then came the 6-month follow-up bloodowork. The basic lipid profile was still great -- LDL now under 50, HDL 85, low triglycerides, no elevated CRP or lp(a). But literally every metric on the particle test had moved in the wrong direction. Dr. A. admitted he was stumped. This wasn't supposed to happen given where my baseline had been and the treatment I was on. He raised a few possibilities but basically ended up encouraging me to focus on cutting out carbs as much as possible and to do a re-test and a new Cleerly scan in another 6 months.

Which brings me to this week. I had the Cleerly scan done again this week. And somehow, I have seen a 17% increase in my plaque volume. This was not supposed to happen. More worryingly, the balance between calcified and non-calcified has shifted; it is now close to 50/50. The idea was that with my treatment, I would dramatically slow the formation of any new plaques and that the existing plaques would simply calcify more and become more stable. Instead, I have developed new plaques and a significant new amount of non-calcified plaque. So the atherosclerotic process that we thought/hoped might have been more active in the past is still very active -- maybe even *more* active than a year ago. But how? Study after study after study says that I am doing and taking the right things to stabilize and improve this situation. The statin is supposed to shifty plaques from non-calcified to calcified. So is the fenofibrate. Taking all that weight off, especially around my belly, was supposed to be a huge boost. But even though my basic lipid profile looks better than ever -- LDL is now just 43 -- I am gaining plaque rapidly and it is spreading to new areas of my arterial tree.

I am supposed to speak with the Dr. soon -- can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned. But I'm obviously quite discouraged as I write this. If you read this thread, you'll see that my extremely high initial CAC score was a mystery to just about everyone, and it's even more of a mystery how my plaque situation could be de-stabilizing and worsening under this kind of treatment and with these lifestyle changes.

I am hoping there is some root explanation that can be discovered here, but nothing in my conversations yet with the Dr. suggests he has many ideas beyond this approach. At worst, it was supposed to leave me in the same situation I was in a year ago and basically have no effect, positive or negative. But his experience and all available research, he said, suggested my situation would only improve. Instead, it's worsened. Which is very upsetting, obviously, and only amplified by the fact that it doesn't seem to make any sense.

Sorry to hear. I have gone between keto and low-fat plant based diets and not much changes. I have a high lp(a) and trying to do what I can to lower everything. Your ldl is great so that is something to celebrate. I took a MTHFR test and have one issue with my MTHFR C677T gene. Recommendation is to do nothing. The answers are not all in, we can just do our best with the current knowledge in front of us. Nice to see what people are doing here in case we are missing any possible treatments, etc. Thank you for sharing.

I too have elevated LP(a) and had to research and ask for it to
be tested myself since my two different cardiologists over time
never tested it. Somewhat high LDL so put me on statins.
That lowered my LDL but LP(A) went up . ( I cut my statin
dosage in half and it still went up. ) Apparently
a genetic condition? Seems to be little information about
it although there is a good cardiology rounds report from
Stanford on line which suggest two medications may be coming
up for FDA approval. Why don't cardiologists do these particle tests
routinely?

My score is 50 and my cardio isn't worried. Some people report scores over 200. Apparently there isn't any way to get the calcium out of the blood once it is there. We can make the effort to stop it from accumulating in the blood. Diet, exercise, low sodium diet, D3 helps the mechanism in the body process calcium eaten go to the bones instead of the blood. Just my experience to go on. My calcium hasn't gone up since I started D3 at 2-3, 2000IU pills per day. Good luck. Every body is different.

My score was 132 at the age of 42, it was 2318 at 65. While it sounded dire at 42, I’m still alive and do the gym daily and had no heart issue and now am 67. While some of these statistics seem overwhelming.. try to look at the inverse positive side of the equation.. for example if you have a 15% chance of a heart occurrence over the next 10 years.. look at it as you have an 85% chance of no issue.

Live as healthy as you can, but being overwhelmed with stress over this .. well it’s not healthy either.

Live healthy. Be educated.. but do not be consumed.