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I have a very high calcium score. What next?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Nov 16 12:17pm | Replies (506)Comment receiving replies
My husband is 68 and his score was 5185 and it is higher than 99% of people his age……talk about freaking out! He has no symptoms, is not overweight, never smoked, not diabetic, walks 3 miles or more 5 days a week or more, and his LDL has been good on atorvastatin 10mg daily. The CAT scan showed no major blockage. We always ate whatever we wanted in moderation, but now have to really examine our food and make adjustments. The Doctor increased his atorvastatin to 80mg daily and will go for a LDL of 40-50. That’s all??.?.? I suggested starting Aspirin 81mg daily and she agreed. I asked about Plavix or Brillinta, but she’s consulting with a cardiac interventionist. What meds is everyone else on? I see a Plavix and Aspirin on one person, but if it’s in the walls and not in the arteries, then what?
Replies to "My husband is 68 and his score was 5185 and it is higher than 99% of..."
LDL 40-50 is a very good range to prevent further buildup. It doesn't need to be zero.
It's becoming more common to add 10mg ezetimibe to a statin, rather than increase the dose. You get more of a boost with ezetimibe than you do with the higher dose.
There is nothing you can really do for calcified plaque. Calcium scores generally don't go down.
I think it's a very good idea to discuss with a cardiologist, in person.
I also have a high score. I'm an active 79 yr old male with a calcium score of over 6000. I feel an unusual shortness of breath (according to me) during exertion so I had the CAT scan done. Dr. also preformed a catherization which showed a 60% stenosis in the distal third portion of LAD. He did not put a stent in as he felt I would not feel any better plus stent size would have been 2mm which tend to collapse. He now has me trying ranolizine to see if it alleviates my sob. Also said that there is nothing that can be done to lower the calcium.
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@kswartz: If it were me I would ask for a repeat lab test. Mistakes do happen. Best…