Bluesdoc, I am sorry that your CAC score did not go down. I wish you all the best and, if you come up with a way out of the mess that we all wade in, please let us know.

I just did a bit of research on Minocycline and found a current paper by Muller et al. (June 11, 2019, Cell Reports 27, 3124-3138). It can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.05.038. It is very technical and long, but seems pertinent to our discussion. The authors conclude that "Inhibiting PARP enzyme activity blocks calcification in vitro and in vivo. They write that Minocycline is the best PARP inhibitor. It would be great if Bluesdoc, or anyone else with an appropriate background could take a look at this major, current study and comment. Looks to me that Minocycline may be helpful in halting the progress or even reversing atherosclerosis.

"I'm otherwise going to do my best to not dwell on things I can't do anything about. None of us are gettin' out of here alive, so, carpe diem."
This has been my constant call to my wife who, as a result of chemo from CLL, now has MDS. It was all very easy to sit back and play cheerleader until I passed out at a sub shop which led to a series of cardio tests and discovered my CAC at 662. Then i was the one freaking out! The stress test looked ok when under stress but, afterward, something looked odd so did a heart cath on Tues. My world changed again when that came back with 25% blockage except for a small spot on LAD with 40%. I was and still am elated!

I'm 65, have eaten pretty well and exercised religiously for at least 20 years but, just like my wife, somethings you can't control. Mine is most likely genetics but I never knew my father and maternal grandfather died at 66 from a heart attack. The MD who did the procedure said simply "keep doing what you're doing" meaning he thought I looked pretty good. So now my focus is to further improve on my diet and exercise. Admittedly, after I retired a year ago, I'd been slacking off somewhat but now I need to get back on track for the long haul.

Hey Bluesdoc. I have read that your CAC score will naturally increase average of 20% per year. So perhaps those treatments were responsible for your zero increase?

It’s been a year for you, anything new? I had a CAC score in March of 725. Sent me for a nuclear stress test. Passed easily. No symptoms, play high level tennis, did the scan out of curiosity. Good cholesterol. Now on a statin, baby aspirin. Changed my diet to Mediterranean in March, now scanning the web for answers. How can I feel this good, work out with zero symptoms?

Now taking aged Garlic, Vit K2, fish oil, magnesium. My daughter, a nurse and nutrition nerd, says forget all the supplements, let your liver rest, and just be strict with the Mediterranean non inflammatory diet and relax. I am 65.