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High Lipoprotein(a) but CAC Score 0
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (78)Comment receiving replies
@leeosteo I don't imagine you will be in my position ever, and certainly not anytime soon. I am already younger than you and my score is approaching 600. It takes decades for atherosclerosis to develop. According to the MESA calculator here: https://mesa-nhlbi.org/researchers/tools/mesa-score-risk-calculator, I have the veins of an 87 year old. So you might get there by the time you are 87. Even then, the predicted age is probably an "average" and I'd have to guess you're "better" than average wrt atherosclerosis development. I threw some numbers in that calculator: 0 CAC, 68 years old, and even at very high Total Cholesterol numbers, you're "CAC age" was much lower than your chronological age. All just speculation and averages, but you seem to be in pretty good shape.
The point I was trying to make was that having the high score weighs on my mind. Atherosclerosis really only goes in one direction. There's no fixing it. So now I have this constant hum in the background of the thing that can't be fixed and threatens my life. So if someone could avoid it, trying/taking the statins seems like a trade that might be worth making. I'd guess it depends somewhat on your personality, too. According to my doctors, the statins should keep it from progressing. Then in your case, you'd have pretty good confidence it would never be a problem.
Good luck. By my take you're in as good a shape as one could reasonably expect at this point.
March 24 is lp(a) awareness day. Here's a video by the Family Heart Foundation that explains the effect of high lp(a) over a woman's lifetime. FWIW. (https://www.youtube.com/watch)
Replies to "@leeosteo I don't imagine you will be in my position ever, and certainly not anytime soon...."
@bitsygirl "The point I was trying to make was that having the high score weighs on my mind. "
Over large populations the cac score is very predictive but on an individual basis it does not necessarily mean an event is impending. I am 68 and had a 600 score in my early 40's. My current score is north of 2300. I have had no symptoms or events. There are people out there with scores north of 6000 who are alive and well.
The limitation of the calcium scan is that it is not a test of the current total functionality of your heart. It estimates plaque burden in the major arteries and that spells trouble in most people at some point down the road. A better predictor of your immediate future is the good old stress test ( pass it and your chance of a cardiac event in the next year is minimal). Better yet there is a calculation derived from that called the Duke score. Anything above 5 on the Duke scale means that there is just a 1% chance of having an event in the next 4 years. The score starts with the amount of time you can stay on the treadmill and deducts points for things like angina, heart rythem issues etc. I have had several of em over the years and my most recent score was 13. The testing center will not volunteer this info...you have to ask for it. !
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@bitsygirl , thanks for the calculator and youtube video. I'll take a look at them. This is all so new to me and I'm trying to educate myself before agreeing to a statin.