1. < Heart & Blood Health

Any women with high CAC scores?

Posted by anniehall56 @anniehall56, Feb 1, 2021

I'm new here. Passionate 64-year old Italian-American college journalism professor married to a gastroenterologist who thought I was in great health. Eat pasta, lots of vegetables, fruit, and little meat, never overweight, look young, feel young, but my dad and four of his brothers dropped dead of heart attacks in their 50s. I've always had elevated cholesterol and triglycerides with elevated glucose levels since my 30s, but high HDL. Not one doctor, including my husband, has thought much of it because "I'm a woman" and appear to be the epitome of health. Everything changed 10 weeks ago when I decided I should have some overdue bloodwork. Cholesterol was 280, LDL 170, triglycerides 272, A1C 6.5 and HS-CRP 10. Scared me to death and decided to have the Calcium cat scan, thinking it would be a zero. It came back at 256, with 255 in the LAD. I've had zero symptoms, dance aerobics 45 minutes a day, no shortness of breath. Had the nuclear stress test the week after which came out perfect. WHAT THE HECK? According to the MESA score, I am at the 92 percentile which puts me at high risk for heart attack and stroke, and according the MESA, my arterial age is 79?? Husband got me in to see one of the top researchers of CAC and CAC progression next week at UCLA where he practices but I'm in total disbelief. I don't take statins but may have to (which raises CAC score), taking an aspirin a day, went full strict no refined carbs - goodbye pasta and bread- and lost 15 pounds in 10 weeks which puts me at a weight I was in my 30s. Understand that you can't reverse CAC score but you can stop the progression. That's all I care about right now. Determined and interested in anything you have to say and anything that's worked for you - supplements, diet, vitamins. Have read all your posts (it's my new past time- misery loves company, right?) and have heard of Vitamin C, K, magnesium, fish oil, Co-Q10, niacin, aged garlic). Will post after my appointment next week and share what this doc says (he's written half the studies that come up on CAC, CAD, and CAC progression). As many of you post: I feel like a walking time bomb. Questioning if learning of the CAC score is a blessing or a curse. I went from a very happy person to a total wreck who is relieved to be teaching online for another semester because I don't want to have a heart attack or stroke in front of my students. Sigh.

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deena12 | @deena12 | Dec 17, 2022

Hi, I also am at the 92 percentile and both my parents died of strokes. I go to a nationally renowned lipid clinic and was told to minimize the saturated fats (even more) and was already taking Crestor (2omg) and zetia (10mg) in order to get my LD below 70. Now in 2022 I was told that new evidence is to get it to 55. ( to slow progression). To do this, I am now taking BEMPEDOIC ACID. Does anyone have any updates to their stories, particularly after using bempedoic acid?

Also, I am trying to increase my food intake of plants that offer protein. Pretty hard to get enough protein on a plant based diet, even when I added salmon:)
Does anyone know how bad the "processed" fake chicken nuggets like the "Morning Star brand are for you? Definitely has higher sodium.

Thank you all.

REPLY
2 replies
jlharsh | @jlharsh | Dec 18, 2022
In reply to @deena12 "Hi, I also am at the 92 percentile and both my parents died of strokes. I..." + (show)
@deena12

Hi, I also am at the 92 percentile and both my parents died of strokes. I go to a nationally renowned lipid clinic and was told to minimize the saturated fats (even more) and was already taking Crestor (2omg) and zetia (10mg) in order to get my LD below 70. Now in 2022 I was told that new evidence is to get it to 55. ( to slow progression). To do this, I am now taking BEMPEDOIC ACID. Does anyone have any updates to their stories, particularly after using bempedoic acid?

Also, I am trying to increase my food intake of plants that offer protein. Pretty hard to get enough protein on a plant based diet, even when I added salmon:)
Does anyone know how bad the "processed" fake chicken nuggets like the "Morning Star brand are for you? Definitely has higher sodium.

Thank you all.

Jump to this post

Hello @deena12 I am new to this discussion so introducing here rather than updating. I took a statin for maybe 12 years then began having problems we couldn’t figure out. My LDL shot up and I ended up discontinuing statins. Fast forward 15 years now. My untreated LDL reached 300, MTC calcium score is similar to yours and have been on bi-weekly LDL apheresis that acutely drops my LDL 70% only to shoot back up. Over time it has dropped my chronic LDL some (measured right before my treatments) We are recognizing systemic problems and over the past year have successfully gotten back on 5mg rosuvastatin and 5 mg ezetimibe. My chronic LDL is 150. I tried Bempedoic Acid a few days and had to discontinue it. Have you tried the PCSK9 inhibitors, Repatha or Praluent? Maybe they would drop your LDL more than necessary. They typically drop LDL 50-70% (I think). They did not have good results.

I am eating 7-8% of my calories from fat, trying occasionally to increase but I cannot tolerate it. What do you eat to get your protein? I did add UNJURY protein broth into my routine. It does not have any fat and has 21 grams of protein in a serving. I like the broth to drink in the winter. I use the vanilla flavor and add to a mashed up sweet potato along with some blended up cottage cheese (sounds strange but not bad). I am starting to branch out and try the unflavored in sauces and broths. I make some protein balls to eat at my treatments made of oatmeal, dates (or other dried fruits I have on hand), the powder, maple syrup and cinnamon.

Do you mind sharing more about your lipid clinic?

REPLY
1 reply
rochelle369 | @rochelle369 | Dec 18, 2022
In reply to @deena12 "Hi, I also am at the 92 percentile and both my parents died of strokes. I..." + (show)
@deena12

Hi, I also am at the 92 percentile and both my parents died of strokes. I go to a nationally renowned lipid clinic and was told to minimize the saturated fats (even more) and was already taking Crestor (2omg) and zetia (10mg) in order to get my LD below 70. Now in 2022 I was told that new evidence is to get it to 55. ( to slow progression). To do this, I am now taking BEMPEDOIC ACID. Does anyone have any updates to their stories, particularly after using bempedoic acid?

Also, I am trying to increase my food intake of plants that offer protein. Pretty hard to get enough protein on a plant based diet, even when I added salmon:)
Does anyone know how bad the "processed" fake chicken nuggets like the "Morning Star brand are for you? Definitely has higher sodium.

Thank you all.

Jump to this post

The fake meats are processed and are not good for you. Stick to a whole food plant based diet and cut out all oils which damage the lining of your arteries. You will get enough protein. Dr Dean Ornish and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn were the first ones to show you can prevent and heart disease by changing to a plant based diet. Medicare also pays for the Dean Ornish program where they will provide food.

REPLY
1 reply
deena12 | @deena12 | Dec 18, 2022
In reply to @rochelle369 "The fake meats are processed and are not good for you. Stick to a whole food..." + (show)
@rochelle369

The fake meats are processed and are not good for you. Stick to a whole food plant based diet and cut out all oils which damage the lining of your arteries. You will get enough protein. Dr Dean Ornish and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn were the first ones to show you can prevent and heart disease by changing to a plant based diet. Medicare also pays for the Dean Ornish program where they will provide food.

Jump to this post

Thanks for the tip about the Dr Ornish program being sponsored by Medicare. Great. I researched it just now and it is done via a cardiac rehab program and there is one group Ornish meal per each of your 18 rehab sessions. Is this also your understanding?
Thxs!

REPLY
deena12 | @deena12 | Dec 18, 2022
In reply to @jlharsh "Hello @deena12 I am new to this discussion so introducing here rather than updating. I took..." + (show)
@jlharsh

Hello @deena12 I am new to this discussion so introducing here rather than updating. I took a statin for maybe 12 years then began having problems we couldn’t figure out. My LDL shot up and I ended up discontinuing statins. Fast forward 15 years now. My untreated LDL reached 300, MTC calcium score is similar to yours and have been on bi-weekly LDL apheresis that acutely drops my LDL 70% only to shoot back up. Over time it has dropped my chronic LDL some (measured right before my treatments) We are recognizing systemic problems and over the past year have successfully gotten back on 5mg rosuvastatin and 5 mg ezetimibe. My chronic LDL is 150. I tried Bempedoic Acid a few days and had to discontinue it. Have you tried the PCSK9 inhibitors, Repatha or Praluent? Maybe they would drop your LDL more than necessary. They typically drop LDL 50-70% (I think). They did not have good results.

I am eating 7-8% of my calories from fat, trying occasionally to increase but I cannot tolerate it. What do you eat to get your protein? I did add UNJURY protein broth into my routine. It does not have any fat and has 21 grams of protein in a serving. I like the broth to drink in the winter. I use the vanilla flavor and add to a mashed up sweet potato along with some blended up cottage cheese (sounds strange but not bad). I am starting to branch out and try the unflavored in sauces and broths. I make some protein balls to eat at my treatments made of oatmeal, dates (or other dried fruits I have on hand), the powder, maple syrup and cinnamon.

Do you mind sharing more about your lipid clinic?

Jump to this post

Hi,
I had to go off most sugar and alcohol plus the meds I mentioned to get my LDL down.
I cut the crestor dose in half for two weeks to slowly introduce tolerance. Will do the same with the B. acid.
Increasing the. Crestor dosage would produce a 8 percent average improvement in LDL and only 2 percent for increasing the zetia dosage, so not a lot to gain.
The PSK injections were discussed, but first the doctor wanted for me to try the B. acid.
Hope this info is helpful!

REPLY
rochelle369 | @rochelle369 | Dec 18, 2022

It's done virtually. I have a friend who just took it. Who loved it. I just asked her. It was for 9 weeks. They sent her food for five weeks (all meals and snacks). Program runs twice a week.
It's about lifestyle medicine. Four hour sessions. 1 hour for each - exercise, nutrition, support and stress management. Eight hours a week total

REPLY
1 reply
deena12 | @deena12 | Dec 19, 2022
In reply to @rochelle369 "It's done virtually. I have a friend who just took it. Who loved it. I just..." + (show)
@rochelle369

It's done virtually. I have a friend who just took it. Who loved it. I just asked her. It was for 9 weeks. They sent her food for five weeks (all meals and snacks). Program runs twice a week.
It's about lifestyle medicine. Four hour sessions. 1 hour for each - exercise, nutrition, support and stress management. Eight hours a week total

Jump to this post

Wow. It sounds great! I will call today. Thank you. I would have never known about this if it wasn’t for you. I can update folks about it, once I complete, if interested.😀❤️

REPLY
rochelle369 | @rochelle369 | Jan 1, 2023
In reply to @maggiemarie "My husband has a CAC score of 400 and we were alarmed, too! However the echocardiogram..." + (show)
@maggiemarie

My husband has a CAC score of 400 and we were alarmed, too! However the echocardiogram and stress test came out OK. (The nurse who administrated the tests told him she had seen people come in with scores of 4000 on their CAC! ) Still the doctor put him on 10 mg of statin, which I questioned. I asked him to get a second opinion, which he did. Seems doctors think statins are a really good thing. It did bring his LDL down to 60 from 119.
I asked the doctor why the high CAC score yet the other tests came out OK; he said that plaque could be on the outside of the arteries?
We follow a gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free diet with 90% of our foods organic. Our only oils are olive, flaxseed, and coconut.
He is only on one other medication. He is somewhat active - exercising in gym and/or walking a couple of miles a couple of times a week - 75 years old, and his body is in good form. He went to see the doctor because he was feeling fatigued. I increased his protein which seemed to help. He is feeling less fatigued now, but still has some fatigue. Don’t know if this information helps, but there it is.

Jump to this post

Dr Esselstyn has shown any oils damage your artery lining. He says No Oils.

REPLY
1 reply
jlharsh | @jlharsh | Jan 2, 2023
In reply to @rochelle369 "Dr Esselstyn has shown any oils damage your artery lining. He says No Oils." + (show)
@rochelle369

Dr Esselstyn has shown any oils damage your artery lining. He says No Oils.

Jump to this post

I have not heard this. Do explain 🙂

REPLY
1 reply
jlharsh | @jlharsh | Jan 2, 2023
In reply to @liene "My story is somewhat similar to yours. I’m 76 and thought I was in reasonably good..." + (show)
@liene

My story is somewhat similar to yours. I’m 76 and thought I was in reasonably good health until my doctor sent me for CAC after seeing cholesterol of 276. It came back at 411, mostly in the LAD. I was horrified. I’m not overweight, and eat a mostly vegan diet. I haven’t been as great with the exercise, but do go to water aerobics and senior exercise classes most days. After a normal nuclear stress test and echocardiogram, the cardiologist put me on 40mg of Crestor. It seems way too high to me (even Crestor web page says don’t take more than 20 mg unless that doesn’t bring down cholesterol), but I am worried enough that maybe I should do what he says. He tells me that statins do more than just bring down cholesterol, but prevent inflammation and keep the soft, non-calcified plaques from clogging arteries. My research tells me that the best diet for preventing and reversing heart disease is that of Caldwell Esselstyn, who has a book, and also guidelines on his web page. This is the diet Bill Clinton followed after his bypass surgery. I’m also following a Facebook group, 100% Esselstyn Reversal Nutrition Forum, which is a large group of people following his way of eating. It makes total sense to me, but extremely hard to follow: whole food plant based with no meat or animal products (including dairy) and no fat or oil of any kind. I feel like this is the diet that I should be on, but I am failing miserably. Please let me know what your specialist recommends.
I should add that my father died of a heart attack at the age of 54, and my cardiologist says I have “familial hypercholesterolemia”.

Jump to this post

I have FH, had scan results similar to yours when I was 52-ish. I did omit most fat from my diet in March and it was a game changer for me. A friend who has a son eating the same way because of a medication he is taking sent me boxes of food once a week to get me started, so encouraging to see options and to help my husband see we can do this together (mostly :)). You can do this! http://www.thefhfoundation.org is an excellent resource if you have not discovered it yet.

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