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High Coronary Calcium Score: How do others feel emotionally?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Feb 13 9:01am | Replies (640)Comment receiving replies
This is a follow-up post. I have been formulating some questions to ask a cardiologist on an upcoming first consultation visit and would like to see if anyone has any suggestions for additional questions I should ask. In summary, I have NO cardiac risk factors or symptoms, am 70 years old and have a calcium score over 1,600, almost all of it concentrated in two arteries, the right circumflex and the LAD. I had a stress/echo test and the results were normal My PCP started me on 40 mg of Lipitor.I am a life-long exerciser. Here is my current list of questions for the cardiologist:
(1) Is plaque in the coronary arteries representative of the plaque burden throughout the body and brain, putting me at higher risk for stroke?
(2) Current thinking is that the LDL cholesterol should be as low as possible? Should I be taking a higher dose of statin to accomplish that or is the goal to get LDL below 70 and leave it at that?
(3) What do we know for certain based on the the high calcium score and the normal stress/echo test?
(4) Do you recommend any specific supplements to help with heart health, for example ,Vitamin K2?
(5) What is the significance of two coronary arteries having a high calcium score and two coronary arteries at almost zero?
(6) My PCP mentioned that my coronary blood supply may be good, despite the high calcium burden, because of collateral circulation. What does that mean?
(7) How is coronary artery disease monitored and how frequently? EKG? Stress Test? Symptoms?
(8) Should I be taking any other medications other than a statin, for example, a platelet inhibitor?
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@tim1028- That's a great list to start with. The one thing I would ask about is when it comes to lowering your LDL below 70 I had been trying to accomplish that for years by both food choices as well as being on statins (atorvastin, simistatin) both at 40mg w/o any success. All my numbers were much better but my LDL was stuck at about 78. When I went to the Scottsdale Mayo last April for a 2nd opinion on my EF (injection fraction) being so low after a heart attack I had back in 2014, this subject came up and my cardiologist there suggested I try the statin Rosuvastatin at 20mg to start. After taking it for 6 months I had a lipid work-up and my LDL had dropped down to 67.
Both my GP and cardiologist here wanted me to be on 40 mg of it, but I resisted until getting the results. I was pleasantly pleased with the results and not so much comments from my Drs. here? Best of luck to you! Jim@thankful