High Coronary Calcium Score: How do others feel emotionally?

rochelle,

I can find nothing in the linked study that leads to your statement - "By changing to a whole food plant based diet with no oils you are not injuring the endothelium lining any longer creating more plaque."

I may have missed it, but the binary nature of your statement just doesn't align ... sure, the folks in the study who lost 20 pounds reduced fat consumption to 10%-fat vegetarian (does this include eggs and milk products?). No mention of "injuring the endothelium lining."

Here is a quote from the linked document -

"Program Intervention
Experimental group patients were prescribed an intensive lifestyle program that included a 10%-fat vegetarian diet, moderate aerobic exercise, stress management training, smoking cessation, and group psychosocial support previously described in detail.3,7-10 Patients were encouraged to avoid simple sugars and to emphasize the intake of complex carbohydrates and other whole foods. Only 1 patient in the experimental group was actively smoking at baseline, and she quit at entry. Control group patients were asked to follow the advice of their personal physicians regarding lifestyle changes."

Here's a link to one study Intensive Lifestyle Changes for Reversal of Coronary Heart Disease: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/188274

Agree 100% with your statement ..."and I cannot for the life of me understand why it would not be universally considered one of the first lines of defense, and covered by insurance, since the eventual costs of treating heart disease can be so devastating. "

I had never heard of it until about a week ago. My doc suggested I get one and my CAC score is 2354. Seeing a cardiologist in three weeks to see where to go from here.

rochelle,

If you are going to say absolute things like your comments on plant based diets, you need to provide links or citations to those independent studies that shoe this.

Hello, can you tell us what your UCLA researcher told you?

My understanding is that it's normal for your CAC to go up as the plaque calcifies. It's the soft plaque that is dangerous and can rupture. By changing to a whole food plant based diet with no oils you are not injuring the endothelium lining any longer creating more plaque.

@stanimal
I forgot to ask, in the time you chose to go Vegan, did you go onto any meds? Statins? Wondering if that what caused the increase CAC score.

I really appreciated and find your first paragraph helpful, but your concluding sentence: "One should also consider why should one live longer & at what cost to nature?" feels ageist and not helpful. I wouldn't want a cardiologist suggesting to my husband that with high CAC because he is approaching 70 he should consider himself a potential detriment to "nature." We are nature lovers and both of us work hard to make the environment a better place. Being kind to nature isn't age based. Ageism is rampant here in the US and can be a major source of psychological stress on older people and thusly not heart healthy.

Just something for you to consider, thank you.

Hi @stanimal

I agree with some of the other comments, if your on statins, it is probably due to the statins---which in the long run may be a good thing! I work in the Radiological and Oncology field--I am NOT dispensing medical advice, but my own opinion is I personally will not repeat Calcium scoring. I don't require authorizations for CT angiograms or any other diagnostic imaging testing--I get them free from my employer, I just need a script.
I personally believe that if you have no symptoms and are following a good diet and exercise plan...and taking your meds you are doing good as long as you are symptom free. Stress tests are also great to give people pience of mind---and it is not invasive. Ultimatatly everyone needs to make the decison of what is right for them, but don't be discouraged....a decade went by and it sounds like your doing well.
I am not a proponent of doing unnecessary testing including heart caths---many people want to do it to see if their are blockages, BUT these are not risk free and have actually seen people have complications (rare but they do happen) where they tear a vessel which requires emergency surgery. Also...you hear people advocating for CCTA...again, often unnecessary radiation exposure and can open a can of worms for incidental findings that should not be touched. IMHO (and that is all it is) if you trust your Cardiologist and PCP and you have meaningful dialogue with them about options...that is the best course of action. Too many Dr. Googles out their and site so many studies how this works and this doesn't work...go with your gut. Best of luck. BTW, I am about 51 with a CAC of 170 with no other abnormalities and no symptoms---I have friends who have it in the 1000's and are symptom free for years--it is one test of many.

Hi jasper1072

Age at first scan was 57 Had a scan two years later at 59.
Last scan was at age 68.

I'm over the shock now and just trying to live my best life