Ah, didn’t realize that was the range for triglycerides. So it sounds like in terms of bloodwork your main “problem” areas were high A1c, glucose and blood pressure (controlled with medicine though)?

In my case, I do have hereditary hypertension. Was first told I had it in college, didn’t treat regularly with medicine until later in my 20s, so there were a few years there when I could have done some damage. Also even as I’ve taken lisinopril for 15 years, it does seem that in the last couple years my BP has started to climb. It’s generally about 130/80 these days. Looking back at records from doctor visits a few years earlier, it was well under 120. I even remember more than 10 years ago one doctor saying it was too well controlled and that maybe I could cut back or even eliminate taking it. Long way of saying, maybe there has been something happening the last few years metabolically that has raised my BP and contributed to this calcification. But still, it’s not like my BP is *that* high.

I am spending a lot of time searching online for research about CAC and any data that might point to mitigating factors. I do see some research that shows regular physical activity in people with CAC does seem to reduce cardiac risk about 10-20%. I find myself wondering if there’s a statistically meaningful difference in outcomes for people who have high CAC but good lipid numbers vs. those who don’t.

And I even heard a suggestion that there may be people whose bodies are just prone to wanting to promote calcification. The hopeful implication being that a higher CAC score could in some cases mean that a person has simply converted much more of their soft plaque to dense calcified plaque — resulting in a much more stable plaque situation but also a high CAC score. Fwiw, I broke two fingers a few years back and when I had the pins taken out after a few weeks of immobilization, one of them absolutely refused to bend. It was pointed straight and rigid and no amount of physical therapy could get it to budge. The therapist said it was highly unusual and the doctor said that in the short time my fingers were immobilized there had been calcification of the tendon. So trying to move my finger was like trying to break through cement. Ended up needing a second surgery just to free up the tendon and allow my finger to move today. Anyway, thought of that today. Is there some chance I’m somehow prone to calcification in a good way?