Cardiologist disregarded my CAC score of 595
I'm 53, I am about 30 lbs overweight, I've lost 30 lbs this year. I eat extremely healthy due to the fact that as soon as I hit puberty, the weight was just a battle to keep off. My cholesterol has always been in the normal, but the last few years my tri and LDL have went up. After losing a friend to unexpected heart attack, I decided to get all the preventive testing I could. My primary recommended the CAC to help put me at ease, I had some chest tightness with stress. Also during this visit, labs came back normal cholesterol but 126 LDL up from 90ish. So when I got a 595 CAC score I nearly lost it!! ok, since then I've done some research and found it's just part of a puzzle, but apparently it is an indicator that I have plaque build up- even with healthy diet. As I started some research, I knew my uncle died of unexpected heart attack at 51 (was healthy), my grandma smoked heavy, but had a stroke at 59, my other uncle stroke and blockage 62 - drinker and previous smoker, my super healthy uncle (my dad was 1 of 6 boys) had a heart attack at 66 and they said it was hereditary - bc no other real indicators. So I get and stress test, it's abnormal. My cardiologist (just assigned) says abnormal just means between normal heart beat and heart attack - grey area. The CAC score is not an indicator and shouldn't be used, "he's seen much higher numbers" - if my parents didn't have early heart attack, my uncles don't matter, when I said what about 126 LDL, he says "everyone has cholesterol in their blood" he then went on to let me know, I wasn't just gonna get a stent, he literally said this like 5-6 times, and I never mentioned it. Is this Dr as crazy as I feel. btw, I stated due to the many factors, a CT scan was called for - he ordered, and due to LDL and high CAC a statin would be called for - he prescribed. He seemed mad about the whole thing. YES I'm definitely seeing a new Cardiologist once CT scan is done. Why did this Dr. act to defensive about CAC info?
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should be best too do without...edited@kobe2026
@kallettla 0 is great. Wow! You can’t do better than that. Congrats.
@cher51 except that it means nothing. I likely have the more dangerous unstable soft plaque like I have in my carotids.
@kallettla That is what I want to find out. My problem is the LAD 486. Soft can cause blood clots. Yikes!