Calcium Scoring Test

@hikerguy62

Obviously I am not dispensing medical advice, all my comments are my opinions and comments made to me by several physicians---nothing more. My brother and I have two different cardiologists, he is about 10 years older than me and had a very minor event a decade ago but he also was a heavy smoker and very poor eater from a nutrition point of view--he is terrific now. He gets a stress test every 5 years, his Cardiologist says unless you experience pain or other symptoms they will stay that course. My cardiologist actually said the same thing---he said he may not do a Nuclear on me again next time, just a regular one in 3-5 years. Here is "my opinion"....value against risk again based on your age. I am going to be 51 this year and otherwise healthy...I hope to have many years before me and don't want to exposure myself to unnecessary radiation or procedures which could bring me down the rabbit hole! I don't want to sound morbid, but from an actuary point of view, one needs to think about what statistically is one's longevity. Meaning....if you look up basic life expectancy tables provided by the social security administion and life insurance plans based on age/sex, a 50 year old has 28.3 years to go until you are statistically on borrowed time. If you make it to 70 you have 13.5 years to go....again its playing the odds. Most of my family who have had heart issues live in to their late 80's and for the most part early 90's. My fathers brother who passed away about 1 year ago smoked 2 cigars a day and had at least 1 Martini a day---a regular George Burns AND died at age 92 with only 1 week in the hospital. So...I don't want to endure exposing myself to unnecessary radiation where 10 years down the line caused Cancer. Again, this is my humble opinion. Imagine worrying for several decades about dying of the chest clenching big one----only to die from cancer. =:)

Quick update team. I will need a deeper look at the two problematic areas. My RCA, where my CAC score was a 31 is where the large abnormal reading was found. Where the rest of my CAC resides, in the LAD 251, and other abnormality identified, I have medium abnormal prognosis. As Jasper stated, many folks with much higher scores then my 282, but no abnormal conclusion. This was not my case unfortunately.

I am told the surgery is approximately an hour. If the blockage is greater then 70%, most likely a stent will be placed while there already up in there checking it out. Leave same day if no stents, or alternatively will be released on Saturday if a stent/s is put in. Keep me in your thoughts.

@jasper1072 Thanks for those thoughts. All good pieces of info to consider. I'm going to ask my cardiologist what he recommends going forward. I realize even though my echo and stress test came back normal, I'm not out of the woods given my high CAC score (2354). Hopefully I caught this soon enough that the statins will help stabilize the plague and give me another 20 years (I'll turn 61 this year).

Good luck to you Jasper. Angioplasty is a very common procedure. All surgeries have risks, but this is done every day.

Ask if they'll be using medicated (a.k.a. drug-eluting) stents. "These are coated with drugs that are released gradually over time into the surrounding tissue. They are designed to inhibit the process of restenosis, which is the re-narrowing of the artery after the stent placement."

Also ask if they'll be inserting the catheter in your femoral (leg) or radial (wrist) artery. From some limited reading I had done, it seemed the preferred area was the radial. You'll most likely be put on a blood thinner for at least 6 months if you have a stent put in.

Isn't it crazy how, in some cases, people with high CAC scores (my LAD is 665 and my RCA 1639) come back with normal results, but people like yourself with much lower CAC scores end up needing a "further look." Just defies logic.