High Coronary Calcium Score: How do others feel emotionally?

Just had my one year check up after a quadruple cardiac bypass surgery. I am fully recovered (except for the mammary vein that was used in the process, which still stretches when I work out). I had a CAC score of 886. You can't go by that whole number, but there is a breakdown that tells you where the blockage might be. I was completely asymptomatic, but after the cardiac catheterization was told I was not a candidate for stents and was recommended to a surgeon. When I think back on everything I went through with the surgery, the ICU, the long recovery, I wonder if I could have skipped that whole thing. Bottom line if you have a family history of stroke/heart disease you are a candidate for some procedure. It becomes a choice of a planned event or an unplanned emergency. I am told because I was asymptomatic, my heart muscle is still healthy. Of all of my friends in my close circle I was considered the most active, health conscious one. Worked out 7 days a week, ate organic, had the occasional drink, never smoked. So it is an irony when you read a quiz that tells you how to change your lifestyle and you can check all the boxes! So what else is there to change.

We have a choice of living under a Damocles sword or getting on with our life and doing all the things we can, while we can. For those of you with an engineering background -- our bodies also have an MEP system -- Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing. So I learned today that while my plumbing and mechanical systems were fine, I had an issue with my electrical system which seems fine but would require a pacemaker in the future. I should never have let anybody tamper with my system. I have great doctors and think they all did a great job. But I feel like a used car, with frequent tune ups and always something new that is being discovered that needs more attention.

I am very grateful for this forum. I don't feel like I am alone. And it allows me to lead the good life. Whether or not it matters, I continue with my good lifestyle, working out, eating healthy and making a positive impact on others. But I am done. Not sure where my thinking will be in a few years if I actually will need a pacemaker. But for now, I have been very blessed, I have had a good life and when God is good and ready, I will go happily and without fear or regret. No more surgery for me!

Thanks, bluesdoc. I'm glad I had the CAC scoring done two years ago. I am already a lifelong exerciser, but I did change my diet to follow American Heart Association guidelines (Mediterranean diet) I've come to terms with the high score, and no longer feel that it's a Damocles sword hanging over my head. So unless I become symptomatic, I'll continue to follow the best heart-healthy practices, including taking a statin to keep LDL in the 50-70 range.

@bluesdoc Your response made me feel a little better. Thank you.

Hi again, Tim. Yes, I agree. CAC scores are statistically associated with coronary risk, but there are plenty of outliers, ie, someone with a CAC score of 400 and no plaque on angiogram (a case my cardiologist had). And those of us with scores off the charts, no one understands the meaning. If Annie, with a CAC score of 256 is in the 92nd percentile for MI risk, those of us in the thousands ought to be dead several times over. Apparently, we're not.

I was told by my Cardiologist that the risk of doing invasive cardiogram outweighs the benefits. In other words there is nothing I would do differently based on the cardiogram. Do you agree Bluesdoc? Like you I have a high CAC score of about 1500

I feel your pain. Standard of care is broken, and I'm married to a gastroenterologist! Been told for years by doctors that I didn't have to worry about my cholesterol because I had high HDL and because it was the men in my family who dropped dead. Now I'm looking at a 256 CAC score at 64 years old. Thought I was in great shape, now feel like the "walking time bomb" because that score puts me in the 92 percentile which is considered high risk for heart attack. Saw a cardiologist who gave me the same standard of care BS so had my husband order all the tests that tell you what you need to know- LPa, APOB, fasting insulin, etc. and repeating lipids, etc. On a very low carb diet and doing my own research to stop the progression. Seeing one of the top researchers at UCLA tomorrow. Will report back to see what he has to say but statins do raise CAC scores so I'm not sold on taking them yet.

If any one has been successful in lowering their calcium score I would be very interested in your treatment plan that accomplished this difficult task. I would also be interested in the genetic influence on arterial calcium buildup. Provide the genes and snps that are most closely linked.

If anyone who has a high score and had a stroke attributable to their score would provide information on outcome and how your stroke presented.

Thanks for the input. Ive probably been over researching!

The CAC score is just one variable in a total picture of your total risk for CAD. With a calcium score gt 1k you tend to have a more stable plaque. This could lower your risk for stroke and certain coronary events. If you have unstable plaque and undergo angioplasty you may have a greater risk of a adverse event. The calcium score also breaks down where the calcium deposits are located which indicates where and how pathogenic the calcium may be. The bottom line is you must be cognizant of all the details that are included in cardiovascular disease. A few factors not mentioned is family history, genetics, lifestyle, lifetime blood pressure and any other cormobid conditions.

Roberta

fwiw - I'm the owner of an astronomic CAC score - over 2600, but, BUT I have a normal stress treadmill and the ultrasound of my carotids shows no atherosclerosis. Point being - I'm NOT in line for a stroke. And as I've mentioned before, I don't think that those of us with extremely high CAC scores have coronary atherosclerosis in proportion to that score. So, we really don't know our risk for heart attack without coronary angiography. I'd do that if I weren't hypersensitive to contrast material. So it goes.