Has anyone seen a reduction in their CAC score from taking vitamin K2?

Posted by hikerguy62 @hikerguy62, Mar 31, 2023

I was told earlier this week that my CAC score is 2534. I considered myself to be a very healthy 60 year old male. I've never drank or smoked, always maintained my weight right around 155 lbs. (at 5'7"), hiked all my life (and still hike, but not as much or as far). I ate primarily chicken, pork and salmon the last 8-10 years (VERY rarely red meat) and no family history of heart disease except an uncle who had a heart attack (and was a heavy smoker until that wake-up call) and my dad who passed away from a heart attack at 84. So to say I was shocked when my doctor called and told me the score is a big understatement.

I've been doing a LOT of research on CAC scores since I got my results this past Tuesday. It's been a roller coaster of emotion because one article gives you hope, then another takes you back down lol

I've started on K2 (in addition to the D3 I started about 3 weeks ago).

I'd love to hear from anyone who's been on K2 (and especially the MK-7 "variety" of K2) who has seen improvement in their score.

Thanks!

Andy

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@njx58

Mine says it is fine. Ask your cardiologist why no K2, and then do your own research to find studies supporting his opinion.

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Yes he said it didn't matter either way but something about my body produces exactly enough. Might be due to my blood work being okay

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@njx58

This study says NO beneficial effects were found - and it's a much more recent study.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8869304/
This is the problem. A study comes out, it starts to be repeated on Web sites, and everyone just takes it as gospel and nobody ever does any further investigation.

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Interesting study. All I can say is with being on 5 mg alone of Crestor I could not get my levels Down to where my cardiologist wanted. Once I added Brazil nuts my levels dropped.
The study suggests Brazil nuts have benefits so why not try. It also says “This study highlights the need for further research exploring the effect of Brazil nut consumption toward cardiovascular health, taking into account more valid biomarkers.”

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@swilkins1974

Interesting study. All I can say is with being on 5 mg alone of Crestor I could not get my levels Down to where my cardiologist wanted. Once I added Brazil nuts my levels dropped.
The study suggests Brazil nuts have benefits so why not try. It also says “This study highlights the need for further research exploring the effect of Brazil nut consumption toward cardiovascular health, taking into account more valid biomarkers.”

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Other nuts are also known for being heart-healthy, like walnuts, so maybe it's not Brazil nuts specifically? I eat a handful of various nuts a day, and I usually throw a Brazil nut in there . Glad you got good results!

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I started taking K2 to keep my Aortic Valve Stenosis from getting worse. I just was diagnosed recently so will not have any benchmark since I am going to get a TAVR in January at Mayo in Rochester. This Cleveland Clinic article sums it up nicely. The published studies don't show significant lessening of buildup but as long as it worked for some of the people, I am hopeful. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vitamin-k2
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.057008
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.066271

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@mone2

I started taking K2 to keep my Aortic Valve Stenosis from getting worse. I just was diagnosed recently so will not have any benchmark since I am going to get a TAVR in January at Mayo in Rochester. This Cleveland Clinic article sums it up nicely. The published studies don't show significant lessening of buildup but as long as it worked for some of the people, I am hopeful. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vitamin-k2
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.057008
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.066271

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In the second citation, the conclusion seems to indicate K2 does nothing for either reducing aortic valve calcium already in place, or slowing the increase - unless I read it incorrectly?
"Conclusions:
In elderly men with an AVC score >300 AU, 2 years MK-7 plus vitamin D supplementation did not influence AVC progression."

In the third citation, there is an interesting tidbit, but not conclusive -
"Against the notion that the treatment dose and duration may have been too low in the AVADEC trial is the fact that we observed an interesting secondary finding. Progression in the coronary artery calcification score seemed to be decreased in the intervention group, especially among participants with coronary artery calcification scores ≥400."

Worth talking more about?

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