I have a very high calcium score. What next?

I'm 64 and thought in decent shape, a bit overweight, and scored 700. I was shocked as many and there isn't guidance except seeing cardiologist, who are booked for two months. Epidemic?
I eat well and make most meals, mostly plant based with seafood and chicken.
Hurt my knee last year and after 45 years of running had to back down to walking 4 miles.
I'd like to do some light jogging/walking for four miles and I'm doing knee exercises. I got heart rate up to 168 jogging but worried should I not push myself more? Most info says diet and exercise but limits according to score aren't mentioned.
My goal was to back down to 10mg of Lipitor after being on 20 for 20 years. Doc said yes, but first do calcium score. After score he advised going up to 40mg and take aspirin. Aspirin bothers my system so i stopped taking it.
Reading more about K2 helping with heart but it clots blood. Also, seems I should have been taking CoQ10, which I'm doing now. I backed off of K2 because I think more research needed and trying to get it from pasture raised eggs, some cheeses (which is saturated fat) high in K2, and other prepped foods high in K2.
Off for a light run/walk - thinking I go light until I see cardiologist. May last run I felt fine.

Cardiologists… BTDT, been there done that. If you are otherwise a healthy individual with no symptoms the most a reputable cardiologist will do is put you on a statin and perhaps give a stress echocardiogram or nuclear scan. If the stress echo results are normal the doctor will advocate for aggressive lifestyle changes: regular exercise, balanced mostly plant based diet, abstaining from smoking and excessive alcohol and keep BP in check. Regular check-ups/blood work with your GP are important.

Also keep in mind if you have an elevated calcium score it has been high for a VERY long time. And how are you doing now? Fine and probably asymptomatic.

CAC score isn’t a death sentence; it’s a wake-up call.

If no symptoms don’t get tricked into an invasive coronary angiogram without any functional testing like stress echocardiogram or nuclear testing. And resist the unnecessary angioplasty.

Get on a statin. I resisted like an dummy for 20 years, my father started taking them when they first came out in the 1980s I believe it was, and when he recently turned 85 years old I realized he was just doing fine on them and my fears were irrational. The statin will stabilize the soft plaque and prevent it from breaking off and forming clots.

Calcium is just one piece of the puzzle, while this illustration isn't scientific it gives a good overall picture.

I'm 64 and thought in decent shape, a bit overweight, and scored 700. I was shocked as many and there isn't guidance except seeing cardiologist, who are booked for two months. Epidemic?
I eat well and make most meals, mostly plant based with seafood and chicken.
Hurt my knee last year and after 45 years of running had to back down to walking 4 miles.
I'd like to do some light jogging/walking for four miles and I'm doing knee exercises. I got heart rate up to 168 jogging but worried should I not push myself more? Most info says diet and exercise but limits according to score aren't mentioned.
My goal was to back down to 10mg of Lipitor after being on 20 for 20 years. Doc said yes, but first do calcium score. After score he advised going up to 40mg and take aspirin. Aspirin bothers my system so i stopped taking it.
Reading more about K2 helping with heart but it clots blood. Also, seems I should have been taking CoQ10, which I'm doing now. I backed off of K2 because I think more research needed and trying to get it from pasture raised eggs, some cheeses (which is saturated fat) high in K2, and other prepped foods high in K2.
Off for a light run/walk - thinking I go light until I see cardiologist. May last run I felt fine.

@pumaguy79 At a CAC score of 8000, did you ever need a stent? Have you ever felt any chest pain? That's quite a score! My score this past March was 2534 (at 61 years of age). Absolutely asymptomatic at this point. I consider myself pretty fit for my age. I walk about a mile 5-6x a week, exercise every other day (sandbag training), mostly vegetarian, no alcohol, no smoking. I was put on 20mg Crestor/Rosuvastatin shortly after receiving my score and started taking D3, K2 and CoQ10 shortly after receiving my score. I chose NOT to go on a baby aspirin though due to the risk of stroke, brain hemorrhage and stomach ulcers.

Just curious how you feel with a score that high.

Thanks,

Andy

Obviously you are doing good. You are an inspiration.
Best wishes!

Exaclty what I had- check out my post today2 hours ago · Coronary artery Ectasia (CAE) in Heart & Blood Health

I got a 2996 score on the Agatston test. I got scared, and I successfully pleaded to my doctor to authorize an Angiogram.
Before the test, I met with the procedure doctor and he said possibly the majority of the calcium was in the walls of my arteries, and
not in the arteries themselves, which would cause a blockage or narrowing. That turned out to be the case, and he said a stent was not needed.
However, the angiogram did show a significant amount of ectasia in the top sections of the 4 main arteries. A serious and rare condition,
affecting 5% of heart patients,it's the enlargement of the arteries to at least 1.5 times their regular size which can create a slowdown of bloodflow, and most seriously, clots. It is best managed by diet, exercise and medication, especially aspirin and Plavix. I'm on BP meds and a statin too. And I have to lose 35 pounds.

I would be grateful to hear from others who have this condition, and how they are dealing with it.

Everyone with interest or concern about high calcium scores should read the blogs of noted Harvard Cardiologist, Doctor Bernard Lown, founder of the Lown Institute ( deceased in his 90's in 2021) especially Essays #28 and #31.
Dr. Lown was considered a renegade who challenged the "industry" of over treating folks such as us who
are handed high calcium scores, are invited into heart cath labs, given grave prognoses, and ultimately( irresistibly) subjected to Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery(CABG).

He rails against the modern practice of some cardiologists to use fear tactics over logic sometimes out of conviction, but always with economic consequences for the patient and the doctor(s).

Please read Doctor Lown's own words.