Hello there! My initial calcium score was 400 last year and I have had extremely high cholesterol at least since my 20’s when it was first checked. I started a statin at age 28. I am 52 now. It is super important to develop a relationship with a doctor who can help you. The keys are for you to understand what is happening and to develop a personalized treatment. There is so much good and also bad information available for us to access. It is a silent killer that creeps up on us meaning we have to be diligent to address it, and sooner than later. On the flip side, we are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to address it super early, unlike so many other diseases. Knowledge is critical to our anxiety level and treatment! Hope I am encouraging you and not scaring you. 🙂

I am envious of your calcium score. Mine was about 550 in 2007 when I had the test. I was put on statins and totally changed my diet to be low in sat fat and cholesterol, high in good fats, fiber from all sources. And I lost about 40 lbs. After about a year, I could no longer tolerate statins and went off. The side effects ended immediately. So, I suggest trying the statin prescribed and see what happens. I wish you good luck. It is emotionally hard to suddenly find you have developed heart disease so I understand what you are feeling. Just do your best to take control of your health, exercise with your MD’s OK, change your diet as necessary and give statins a try. I am on the PCSK9 injections which do a great job but I think they are second to Lipitor in reducing the risk of heart attacks.

@lolly906- I would not be afraid of statins. Clearly there is a lot out there that blame statins for just about everything. I would not disagree that some people have unpleasant results from taking statins, but my suggestion is to try a low dosage initialy of whatever the statin your doctor is suggesting and see how it goes for you both in how you react as well as a new blood lipid workup seeing any results. If your reaction is good and the numbers could be better, up the dosage and see how that goes. I was on atorvastatin initially and was getting good results lipids wise, but was having issues with some numbness in my feet. I discussed this with the doctor and we switched to simvastatin. that solved the problem with my feet. Recently I went to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale AZ. and meet with a cardiologist for several new tests. Because my overall cholesterol was good, but mt LDL(lousy as I call it) was still a bit high the doctor suggested switching to a newer statin that does a better job with LDL & triglycerides. He put me on rosuvastatin. I'm starting with half the dosage I was on with simvastatin and next month will see how my blood lipid workup looks. Hope this helps and puts you at ease. Remember, you have a say because it's your healthcare. Jim @thankful.

I have been on Simvastatin 40mg for several years without any side effects. My heart doctor says the statins have almost put him out of business! Meaning they work so well...I do have a blood test each year. I understand there are several brands and some don't work and/or can cause problems, but working with your doctor should ease your mind...

I'm interested in knowing if you had another calcium score test since the one in 2007 and if the score was reduced over time?

I could not tolerate statins. For the last six months I have been injecting Repatha twice a month. Recent bloodwork shows my LDL has dropped 50%.