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Has anyone seen a reduction in their CAC score from taking vitamin K2?
I was told earlier this week that my CAC score is 2534. I considered myself to be a very healthy 60 year old male. I've never drank or smoked, always maintained my weight right around 155 lbs. (at 5'7"), hiked all my life (and still hike, but not as much or as far). I ate primarily chicken, pork and salmon the last 8-10 years (VERY rarely red meat) and no family history of heart disease except an uncle who had a heart attack (and was a heavy smoker until that wake-up call) and my dad who passed away from a heart attack at 84. So to say I was shocked when my doctor called and told me the score is a big understatement.
I've been doing a LOT of research on CAC scores since I got my results this past Tuesday. It's been a roller coaster of emotion because one article gives you hope, then another takes you back down lol
I've started on K2 (in addition to the D3 I started about 3 weeks ago).
I'd love to hear from anyone who's been on K2 (and especially the MK-7 "variety" of K2) who has seen improvement in their score.
Thanks!
Andy
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What does “stops calcium plaque mean?”
I’m confused by much of your post?
All I can say I wish I had taken the K2 years ago then maybe would’ve not had a calcium problem. Vitamin D is a must with K2 in order to absorb the K2. My research shows other than surgery there is no way of getting rid of the plaque you already have. But saying that K2 can help with not adding more plaque to your arteries
Thanks for that reply @mfaphoto1949 That lines up nicely with all I've read (especially how soft plaque is worse than calcified plaque because it's more unstable and can break off and block an artery more easily).
I ended up getting both an ECG and nuclear stress test (detailed in another post) and all came back normal, so I was VERY relieved by that. I just plan on watching what I eat (for the most part lol), staying on Crestor the rest of my life and continuing to exercise and walk. Not much more I can do and realize now that my score of 2534 isn't a death sentence.
mfa,
Why do you hope K2 and D3 will decrease plaque ... I have seen no research indicating this will occur?
I have been looking for years to find something to
remove plaque safely. So far, no luck. I will check up on the k2.
My Doctor found my calcium in the blood and sent me for a bone density test which showed that the calcium was being pulled from the bones into the blood.
Now I am on a medicine to help slow the removal of calcium, take once a week. Also Doc said be careful and not fall because of weaker bones. I have never heard of a score of CAC, whatever that is.
ten,
CAC is common term - google it - lots to read.
Plaque builds up inside one's arteries from cholesterol, calcium, fats, dead cells, etc.
To my knowledge there is no way to remove calcium after the plaque has calcified.
Here's a good Harvard sponsored article.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium/#:~:text=The%20body%20gets%20the%20calcium,will%20remove%20calcium%20from%20bones.I read about cholesterol Particles A and Particles B. One is large “fluffy” particles, not a problem, and one is small hard particles, which are a problem. You can get a high bad cholesterol score, but if you don’t have the particle test done it will lead you to believe you need a statin when you don’t. Are you talking about the same thing and am I confused?
Not decrease plaque, remove calcium from the arteries. I have it in places where the arteries branch. When speaking about plaque, soft plaque that has been stabilized, becomes calcified. They are not a danger. However, calcium in the arteries narrows them, sometimes producing angina. That is what I have once in a great while. I would like that to be out of the arteries and have been led to believe that K2 + D3 and Magnesium will reduce calcium and put it back into the bone.
I know about LDL particle size. Evidently that test is expensive and may not be covered by insurance. As an alternative, I am cleaning up my diet, as per Robert Lustig, and hope the small particle LDL will eventually be cleared out.
Wow. Thank you for a thoughtful and enlightening response. I will look into that. It addresses some of my thoughts as well. I often wonder how much hype is real about statins and the more I learn, the more I question statins. Will it save my life or will it just make Big Pharma rich, or somewhere in between? I would like to get it right.