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High Coronary Calcium Score: How do others feel emotionally?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Feb 13 9:01am | Replies (640)Comment receiving replies
Thank you, doctor, for your illuminating post. I've just had my first calcium score, at age 66, which came in at 61 but with my cCTA showing 50% stenosis in the mid-LAD (and no other vessels). My PCP referred me to cardiologist and they're both urging me to get stress nuclear or stress CMR-tested. Like you, I'm asymptomatic, have no risk factors, and am a lifelong endurance athlete -- these days, I'm running, rowing, hiking and working out vigorously at least two hours per day. So I was very interested to read that you got stress nuclear tested. My cardiologist tells me the purpose is to test for "silent ischemia" due to my stenosis, which they think may now or will soon require stenting. I've been reluctant to go ahead, fearing a false positive followed by an intervention; since you are asymptomtatic and low-risk, yet got stress nuclear tested, and you're an interventional cardiologist yourself, I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts as to the considerations that favor stress nuclear or CMR testing. Thank you very much!
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I have a score of 642 and am 70 yo. LDL went down to 22 with a new injectable my cardiologist put me on plus 10 mg of statins. I'd taken statins 10-20 mg for about 20 years prior and I attribute that to my high Calcium score but I've come to think it's not a bad thing. From everything I read, statins are designed to transform soft dangerous plaque to hard not-as-dangerous plaque and I believe that's what happened to me. I did take a nuclear stress test after passing a normal stress test with flying colors (in fact, I broke the machine at the 9 minute mark). Nuclear stress test showed good blood flow, my cardiologist told me. I also had a sonogram of my heart. I was worried before the nuclear test and sonogram but they and the cardiologist put my mind at rest. I should say that I live in NYC where I believe the best doctors in the world are. I asked around for a top cardiologist and was referred to one affiliated with Cornell Weill who does not take insurance. I went anyway and I'm glad I did. I realize I'm fortunate to be able to do that but wanted to give you the full picture.