High calcium score: I'm in shock

It was 800 total, 600 LAD, 175 right artery. I had a 65% blockage in LAD and series fatigue when hiking in Arizona and heavy yard work like cutting 15” oak trees. The blockage in the LAD was 12 mm long and 2 stents were placed. I don’t have fatigue anymore but have some short tachycardia events.

Hello, I'm 68 and I just had a CAC test done and the results were 430. So I've been researching using vitamin K2 or MK-7 which is the same thing. There are several doctors on you tube that say K2 will pull the calcium out of your arteries. There have been many studies done that show these results. So I'm going to take 500 mcg's a day or possibly more to see if this can bring my 430 number down. They also say there are no side affects from using K2. So that's good. Good luck.

Hello, Start researching taking K2 or MK-7 high dosage maybe 300 to 500 mcg's a day. These Doctors on you tube are saying that K2 will pull the calcium buildup out of the arteries. There have been studies done on this for years but for some reason it has not been told to the public. Wonder why ? Lol !! So check it out.

Hi OP, there is a lot of good advice here. I know how you must feel about the CAC score, it's a shock to get a high one. After my latest I spent weeks walking around feeling like I could keel over at any minute.
I'm 59 and my CAC score was 1124 in April 2021. I've been on rosuvastatin/Crestore for many years but ate an unhealthy Standard American Diet and had a high-stress job. Since late 2018 I have been eating a low-carb, healthy fat diet, and have sustained a 50 lb. weight loss on a husky 5'7" frame, I'm 175 lbs. I walk 3-5 miles a day, briskly, and do tension band exercises every other day. I'm semi-retired (part-time jobs).
Whether you eat plant-based, LCHF or Keto, I think it's important to avoid processed carbs and added sugar, they lead to metabolic syndrome which ties to heart disease. You want to be insulin sensitive. All of these ways of eating can help you achieve a good triglycerides/HDL ratio (ideally less than 1.5 if calculated using mg/dl measurements).
Something to keep in mind is that statins may be linked to elevated CAC scores.
Also, I have heard K2 works best with sufficient magnesium (I supplement).
You may want to check out Yuri Granik's high CAC score Facebook group, it's where I learn a lot of this stuff (private group, you have to apply to membership and provide your test scores).
And - lastly - high cholesterol is not itself necessarily bad, nor is high LDL. It's the type of LDL (either fluffy buoyant or hard and dense, the latter being the bad type). That can be changed by diet and lifestyle. I recommend you get an advanced lipid panel with NMR fractionation, it will tell you more about the makeup of your blood lipids and better help you assess your risk.
Stay well..

74 years old, received CAC score 6 months ago 1,328. Using web, I entered numbers and found my coronary arteries are equivalent to a 92-year-old, and 10-year risk of heart event or stroke is 39%. Immediately went on very strict raw vegetables diet. This diet is very hard to maintain. I had to back off, adding only fish, but as time goes by, it’s only been 6 months, I cheat. Sugar free chocolates, KETO cookies, but these put pounds back. I am 5’6” and my weight went down from 160 to 134. Was on a low dose statin for decades, but primary care physician (PCP) immediately put me on Rosuvastatin 40mg and ordered Stress Test with Echocardiogram. This stress test produced a Duke Score saying my risk was "only" 10%, walls and muscles are fine, injection great. So high CAC Score, low Duke score. PCP said I was doing everything I could, so don't worry, eat well, exercise, end enjoy remaining life. Few months later, I had to see a cardiologist. First meeting was perfunctory BUT HE DID order LIPOPROTEIN FRACTIONATION MOBILITY, and carotid arteries intima thickness MRI, because, “There is correlation between plaque in carotid arteries and plaque in coronary arteries” whatever that means. This test showed plaque blockage in lowest 10% risk category. So now, 95% risk based on CAC and 10% risk based on other two tests. My LDL went from 50’s to 19 on Rosuvastatin 40mg. Now it’s 27. I read over 100 scholarly papers and started to beg for PCSK-9. Cardiologist said no because diet plus Rosuvastatin 40mg tested at an LDL of 19. Great, yes? Well, wait. The fractionation mobility test came back, with small, medium and large particle sizes and risk panel B - not good at all. Since the particle labs are absolute measurements, not the LDL-C which is calculated, my cardiologist now says my REAL LDL is 110 and I will be on the PCSK9 Inhibitor immediately to get my “real” LDL-P (particle) lower than 40. I will soon go on Zetia in 6 weeks after I have another fractionation mobility test done. I am willing to share any numbers about my chemistry if you ask. I am still alive, happier that I have a much better hold on my numbers. Risk is still 39%. I begged for an invasive cardiology and doc doesn’t want to do it because risk of shedding a clot is 1 in 1,000. He WILL do it if I beg for it. There is so much knowledge I have now, would like to refresh this thread and get it going again. Ask me questions, there is supplements, for one thing, to talk about.

Did they ever check your Lp(a)?

check and increase your vitamin d usage and reduce calcium intake...rosuvastatin said to reduce risk...you could start using a blood thinner like aspirin which reduces risk of clot formation...zetia reduces cholosterol readings to normal almost immediately usually...

get an echo test which is a non invasive and later an angiogram if required which checks up any blood clots

For what it’s worth, here’s my experience.
I can’t recall exact numbers, but my total cholesterol was (for multiple tests) over 300. My LDL very high, but recently had a VLD included in my labs and that was very low. HDL was about 60 (I’m female).
Triglycerides also very low. Doctors wanted to put statins but I have refused for two reasons:
1.). I have chronic fatigue syndrome and fatigue being one of the SE I, couldnt tolerate it
2.). I read decades ago that the size rather than the amount of cholesterol might be a better indicator of risk. When my doctor agreed to test for that (I had to pay out of pocket) my cholesterol molecules were “large and fluffy)
I had osteopenia even though I drank a gallon of milk a week and took a D3 supplement. So I started researching and came across the Weston Price Book and it made a lot of sense to me. I increased vitamin K foods to help get calcium in my bones and ate mostly grass-fed and finished beef. We raised our onn chickens and I switched from cheddar cheese to Guda and Brie-all towards that effort. My score when I divide my Triglycerides/HDL is less than 1 or 1.
I don’t exercise, but I try to be busy, since my chronic fatigue improved.
I also take Thorne Brand D3/K2 drops daily as an effort to get the calcium out of my arteries and into my bones. I eat Kerry Gold Butter and am quite liberal with it. I sauté veggies in that or lard from grass fed and finished beef.
I know this all goes against the prevailing opinions, but it seems to be working for me

One thing to keep in mind is that rosuvastatin is linked to inreased CAC scores as it calcifies and densifies the plaques. Helpfull being on the max dose of 40 mg/day may see that. I think that also happened to me, on 20 mg/day rosuvastatin my score jumped from 545 in 2012 to 1124 in 2021. I’ve reduced the dose to 10 mg/day (low LDL is linked to higher all-cause mortality, dementia, cataracts) and for three years eat low carb healthy fat, much like you. I think you are right that triglycerides are a problem. Fingers crossed.