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High CAC Score with Optimal Cholesterol Levels

Posted by tinyelvis @tinyelvis, May 12, 2025

In 2020, I had a calcium screening done (age 49). It was non-negative at 32. My PCP at the time did not seem alarmed so I wasn't. 5 years later, I've head a follow up done. The score is now 458! My cholesterol has never been anything other than in the optimal range with LDL always in the low 80's. My recent Lp(a) test is 32 which PCP says is normal.

Because of my CAC score, my PCP (a different one) has prescribed a statin. This is all new to me. I don't understand how my score can be so high if my cholesterol has never been high.

Anyone else with this experience?

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Dkrepid | @dlkreps | 2 days ago
In reply to @jlharsh "Oh, @tinyelvis you are a rock star to deal with your health head on! Is your..." + (show)
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Oh, @tinyelvis you are a rock star to deal with your health head on!

Is your PCP helping coordinate with cardiology and GI? It will help so much to identify one provider that you can trust and can help put together what you are learning, especially since what you have going on may be more systemic instead of one specialty area.

I am so sorry you are in the finger-pointing stress circle. It is exhausting and gets you nowhere. I have a complex medical condition that I do not completely understand. Through figuring this out I feel like I lost my identify in my medical record, and by the time I realized what was going on so, so much bad had happened. I got put in boxes I didn’t fit in. It’s a tough hole to crawl out of. A simple but powerful recommendation I got at Mayo Clinic was a book that helped me wade through understanding what health anxiety is vs what various anxiety disorders look like, then what to do about it in terms of talking to my doctors, handling my symptoms, etc. Their words, “ignore the title, take away what is relevant, leave the rest.” This book is a good tool in the toolbox that I am realizing at this moment I could benefit from rereading. I am happy to share more about this book if it sounds helpful at all.

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@jlharsh could I ask what the title of this book might be?

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Janell, Volunteer Mentor | @jlharsh | 2 days ago
In reply to @dlkreps "@jlharsh could I ask what the title of this book might be?" + (show)
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@jlharsh could I ask what the title of this book might be?

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@dlkreps Absolutely!

This is the recommend read to help work through health anxiety
- It’s Not All In Your Head by Asmundson and Taylor
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Your-Head-Sick-ebook/dp/B005D7D52U
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