I am 78 YO female. Because my cholesterol was in the high normal range, in 2007 my cardio sent me for a CAC just to assure there was no calcified plaque. We were both shocked when it came back in the mid 500 range. I immediately went on a statin and removed all eggs, red meat, butter from my diet. I wasn't able to tolerate statins so was without them for several years until Pralulent was approved for reducing cholesterol and heart attacks. Fast forward maybe 5 years and I developed left arm pain with minimal exercise. Into the hospital and received two stents. I am back at the gym, doing vigorous exercise. I must continue to watch my diet and use the Pralulent but I'm doing fine. My father died of his one and only heart attack at age 50 (in 1962 before all these advanced cardio testings were available) so I feel fortunate to have made it to this age. My Mom had by-pass surgery when she was 79 so I am glad I didn't have to go that route.

I am one of 7 children and two of us have calcium scores above zero. I guess we got the problematic cardio genes. And we can't beat ourselves up about this. Only 25% of cholesterol is from diet. The remainder is made by the liver. And cholesterol is different in different people. One sister has cholesterol of over 300 and a zero CAC score. I have an abundance of LPa (L P little a) which is a low density lipoprotein with a little tail on it which burrows into the artery wall. She has light and fluffy LDL which just floats through her blood stream. It is indeed genetic.

Steveny, I understand that you are feeling heartsick and betrayed by your body. If you hadn't already been taking such good care of your body I think you would be in a far worse situation. I suggest you see a nutritionist to discuss healthy eating choices and then just know you are doing everything you can to keep your heart healthy.

Do you know where your calcified plaque is located? Some arteries are of less concern than others.

I wish you peace and good health.

Donna