Calcium Scoring Test

I bought the book. That's next... Thanks.

I promised myself I'd report back to this group when all tests had been completed. All tests are in and here are my results:

Both my nuclear stress test and echo cardiogram came back normal! My METS score was 10.1

After having been on Crestor/rosuvastatin for 49 days (the first 8 days at 10mg and then 20mg after that), my blood work results were quite surprising (in a good way):

Total cholesterol dropped from 221 to 137, trig. from 69 to 48, LDL from 126 to 48. Unfortunately my HDL dropped a little (83 to 78), but it's still in a good range, so not worried about that. My sodium and chloride levels (they're related) went up about 5 points (to go just over the upper recommended limits), but my primary doc said it's nothing to worry about. He also had them check CPK levels (that indicate muscle damage) and those were ok as well.

I'm very surprised my echo and stress test came back normal given my CAC score of 2534. I'm going to keep trying to eat healthy (been on a vegetarian diet since Sept. of 2022, but on rare occasion I do eat meat), and I still have 2-3 pieces of candy (mainly Dove dark chocolate & peanut butter) a day. I don't want to completely deprive myself, and considering during this time (the 49 days on Crestor) I still ate a slice of pizza on rare occasion, I think those are great results. Statins are amazing drugs! Not sure how much more it will drop before those numbers bottom out.

I really thought I'd have blockage that would require a stent(s). I'm VERY thankful I don't. I hope others have as good as luck as I had regarding a high CAC score.

Same results for me too. My CAC 2267. Best of luck to you!

Isn't it a bit odd we can have scores over 2000 with no signs of blockage???? Makes me question things now, but not complaining 🙂

Hi all,

Funny...I have my Nuclear Stress Test results...my CAC is not as high as some (170), but my Nuclear Stress Test was normal---with a METS score of 15.1. Again, no test is perfect, but always reassuring to a certain degree.

Now you're just showing off LOL That's a great METS score!

Hello group,

I got a CAC score of 282 about a month ago. I was immediately put on a statin (crestor 20mg) and baby aspirin, and have been on 10mg of blood pressure meds for about a 1.5 years. I just turned 50 a few months back.

I had a stress test but my results have not been discussed with me by my doctor yet. Stressing out! They don't sound good.

Abnormal study: There is evidence of inducible ischemia based on
nuclear perfusion imaging as well as EKG stress testing.
• Perfusion Defect#1 : There is a perfusion defect that is medium in size
with moderate reduction in uptake present in the mid to basal anterior
wall(s) that is reversible. This defect is suggestive of ischemia in LAD
coronary artery vascular territory.
• Perfusion Defect#2: There is a perfusion defect that is large in size
with moderate reduction in uptake present in the apical to basal inferior
wall(s) that is predominantly fixed. Differential diagnosis includes
nontransmural infarct versus attenuation artifact.
• Perfusion SDS 6
• Post-Stress EF is 71%
• Wall motion post-stress is abnormal. Mid to basal anterior segments are
hypokinetic. Apical to basal inferior segments are akinetic.
• The ECG was positive for stress induced ischemia. There is horizontal
ST segment depression in the inferior leads noted during stress.
• Stress: A Bruce protocol stress test was performed. The patient reached
stage 5. Total exercise time was 15 min 0 sec. The test was stopped
because the patient experienced fatigue. The patient achieved the target
heart rate.

My MET'S was a 17.2, I guess that is good. My EF is 71%, and my research informs that is ok.

A log of language hard to discern, but does not sound promising.

@jaxson123

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Guess you were updating as I was typing away, so I guess what I said below gets tossed out the window. Looks like you have a few things to talk over with your cardiologist. Sorry your results didn't turn out as mine did. Please let us know what he/she says.

Your METS score is excellent though, and you went much longer than I did (I reached my target rate within about 5 minutes but they had me go until 7 minutes and stopped, but I could have gone longer). I had a METS of 10.1, which is good, but you killed that part of the test. But I would agree some of that language sounds a little scary.
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Take a look at this tool (URL below) and see what your risk is. If it helps at all, my CAC score is 2354 but my echo cardiogram and nuclear stress tests all came back as normal. I was put on 20mg of Crestor and baby aspirin immediately as well any my cholesterol numbers dropped significantly in 49 days. I'm a 60 year old male.

Before going on Crestor, my 10 yr. risk of CHD (coronary heart disease) was 16.9% according to the URL below. Now it's magically down to 12.8% since my numbers dropped. I was sweating it until I had those tests done. I know it's easy for me to say now (and I was panicked before I got my results), but try not to think about it too much until you have your results back.
https://www.mesa-nhlbi.org/MESACHDRisk/MesaRiskScore/RiskScore.aspx
If your doc says it's ok, start a walking routine and do some exercising to get in better shape (if you're not already). I was already doing a lot of walking and exercising prior to my discovery of a high CAC score.

Best of luck to you.

You probably dug into this a bit already, but from what I found:

"A perfusion defect refers to an abnormality in the blood supply to a specific region of the heart muscle. The term perfusion refers to the delivery of oxygenated blood to the tissues.

During a cardiac perfusion imaging test, such as a myocardial perfusion scan or stress test, a radioactive tracer is injected into the bloodstream. This tracer highlights the areas of the heart that are receiving an adequate blood supply and those that may have reduced blood flow.

If a perfusion defect is observed, it indicates that there is an area of the heart muscle that is not receiving an adequate supply of oxygenated blood. This can be due to various reasons, including narrowed or blocked coronary arteries, which are commonly associated with conditions like coronary artery disease.

Perfusion defects are an important diagnostic indicator in the assessment of heart disease. They can help identify areas of the heart that may be experiencing reduced blood flow and guide further evaluation and treatment decisions."

And from other readings I've done, your artery(s) have to have at least 70% blockage before they'll put in a stent(s). Hopefully you can avoid that. Angioplasty (where they thread a catheter through your radial (wrist area) or femoral (leg/groin area) artery into your heart to insert a stent is one of the most common procedures done, but of course does come with some risks. Let's hope you don't have to go down that road and it's just a case of monitoring.

If you don't mind sharing, was this test ordered because of chest pain or simply because of the CAC score?