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48M w/High Calcium Score, Great Stress Test, and Family History
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Apr 18 9:43am | Replies (21)Comment receiving replies
Thank you for sharing your story and thoughtful post. I related. I am 53, active, good diet (but did love cheese and eggs), and non-smoker. My dad, brother, cousin, and uncle all died from heart disease in their 50s so my doc recommended calcium scoring. I was 283, but all in my LAD with 0 anywhere else. I thought it had to be a mistake. But apparently false positives are rare. That specific artery caused my dad’s death at the age I am now. Humbling!
I had been on a low dose statin and went immediately to high dose and a baby aspirin per my GP two weeks ago. I don’t see cardiology until next week. Similar to you, I have been a runner for decades. I have been afraid to run now honestly but have been walking 6-8 miles a day, eating pescatarian with egg whites and light cheese. A little chicken. No drinks. Very low carbs and sugar. Hoping to at least delay progression!
It is humbling to see yourself as healthy and sometimes invincible, only to find out part of your body is rebelling! But I have found even in the last three weeks that I feel much better than I did. I have pretty bad osteoarthritis that even seems better, which apparently sometimes happens when inflammation is reduced.
My sister is a doctor and was the second person I told after my husband. She told me that a blocked artery is an opportunity, not a threat. I think of that all the time. Had I not known, maybe I would have found out from a heart attack or stroke. Maybe like so many of my family members, I wouldn’t have lived.
So hopefully you can take a little comfort in knowing that new meds since the ‘80s have absolutely improved generational survival, and you are doing all the right things!
Good luck and hang in there!
Replies to "Thank you for sharing your story and thoughtful post. I related. I am 53, active, good..."
Hi @elody, One thing to note about your CAC: my cardiologist explained that sometimes much of the calcium is along the outside of the artery and really isn't causing much problem at all. You really can't know until you have a CCTA. This is why my doc emphasized that the high CAC flagged me as someone needing follow-up testing, rather than a clear diagnosis in itself.
For me, my 538 CAC score was mostly in my right coronary artery (491.2). But on the CCTA, I only had mild (ie, 0-25%) luminal narrowing in the RCA. Most of that calcium was apparently outside. In fact, the only place I had "minimal" narrowing (ie, 25-49%) was in my LAD, which only had a CAC score of 15.1. So, it is really hard to know what is really going on in your arteries until you have some follow-up work done - a high CAC in one artery doesn't mean that artery is blocked. I hope this eases your mind some and will help you get additional testing to fully understand your own situation.
I'll add that of course the fact that the calcium was on the outside didn't change that I needed to make some changes in my medications and lifestyle. The truth remains that I have been diagnosed with coronary artery disease at a relatively young age and I will need to stay on top of that. But it was a relief to know that nothing was blocking blood flow, that I didn't need any imminent intrusive interventions like a stent, etc. The CCTA also notes if you have any markers of unstable or risky plaques (ie, those most likely to break off and cause a heart attack), which I did not. But having that checked also helped ease my mind.
I hope this makes you feel a bit better. I really appreciated your sister's comment!
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elody,
Can you share your lipid numbers?
Doesn't sound like you've had stress test with echo, yet?
Advanced lipids panel appropriate?