High Coronary Calcium Score: How do others feel emotionally?

I'm grateful for the last couple of days an old friend spent time here Shirley is a great baker ❤️ I have zucchini bread and peach jam she made Um that pumpkin roll was good 👌

Yes Mark, I plan on a repeat CAC score somewhere close to half way through and I will share here. If there's no change or worse, I'll probably stop, at $155 a pop.

Thank you, Tim and Bluesdoc. Very difficult choice. I do feel the way Bluesdoc does. Bluesdoc, you are part way through your course of chelation. When you complete it, do you plan to go for another CAC score? If so, would you be willing to share the results with me? I would await your findings. I realize it would be an n of 1, but it would be helpful to me to know how you fared with chelation.

The ND from whom I'm getting chelation was one of the investigators in the TACT study. It was better than equivocal, but their target was a bit different that this. NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT THIS. If we're trying to decalcify our coronaries in the absence of significant atheroma load, then we're a different cohort than those in the TACT study. And even if we could achieve some degree of decalcification of our coronaries, how does that translate into survival? NO ONE KNOWS. In my case, I just feel driven to do something instead of nothing (to decalcify). When I drop dead, if I have a moment to reflect, I want to know that I gave it my best shot (given no real data - only reasoning from basic principles). Life - whaddya gonna do??

The only study of chelation that I know of, the TACT study, shows equivocal results. It seems to me to be a flip of the coin choice of therapy. It is also expensive, and insurance does not cover it. I should add that I did have an ultrasound done of my carotid, abdominal and ankle arteries, all of which were clear. Thousands of people have this therapy, but my personal choice is to not have it.

Thank you, tim1028, for your reply. I am doing all five of your recommendations. The daily baby aspirin is chewable, so less likely to damage digestive tract. I swim 1,250 yards at a fairly brisk pace 4-5 times per week and usually do something like walk at least once or twice additional. Hopefully, the vitamin K2 will slow or maybe reverse calcification. I feel a strong need to get rid of as much calcium as possible, so am looking into chelation. The propaganda that I have read so far indicates, while there is some risk, it is fairly minimal. Do you (or anyone else) have information to the contrary? Thank you in advance for your help.

Mark--Thanks for sharing your concerns over your high CAC score. I, too, have a high CAC from a CT scan done six months ago. I am 70 and have no symptoms of heart disease or any known risk factors for heart disease. . My initial high anxiety has diminished due to time and knowledge about this condition. I had a follow-up normal exercise stress test with echocardiogram.

What I am doing is (1) taking a moderate dose statin (40 mg Lipitor) to lower LDL (currently 48) (2) changing my diet to decrease saturated fat and added sugar intake and increase fiber. (3) continue with at least 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise and (4) use stress-reduction techniques. and (5) taking a daily baby aspirin I am not doing chelation therapy, because I personally think the possible benefits are outweighed by the risks.

Jennifer, thank you VERY much for the kindness of your reply. I may now be looking for a doctor to do chelation and will check to see if there are any environmental medicine specialists. I do have some anxiety related to this recent diagnosis, and have had some trouble sleeping this past few nights. I am confident that I will be able to overcome this problem in fairly short order, however. My normal state is not depressed, not anxious and expect that I will soon return to that. Your comments were very thoughtful and helpful to me. One way I am addressing my anxiety is through learning more about my condition and sharing my concerns with others on this board. Thank you again.

@mark430 I was told by my doctor that chelation can remove plaque from arteries, and it can also strip essential minerals out of the body, so that would need to be done by someone who knows what they are doing. Chelation is used to detox from metals and you might find a doctor who does something like that who is an environmental medicine doctor. I regularly see one, and he has me take Vitamin D3 with K2 in it and says the K2 prevents deposition of calcium in the arteries that can be caused by too much Vitamin D. Vitamin D levels should be monitored because too much can be detrimental. Environmental medicine looks to prevent problems by correcting body chemistry. There are supplements designed for heart patients that detox and I take one as recommended by my doctor that supports methylation and healthy homocysteine levels, part of the body detox pathway that may not work as well in patients with increased risks of heart disease. Diabetes is linked to heart disease too, and diet and reducing extra sugar and carbs can help prevent diabetes and resulting heart disease.

Here is an excerp about Heart Disease and Methylaytion from this link https://www.nbwellness.com/contents/topics/biomedical/methylation-health-disease

Importance of the Methylation Cycle in Heart Disease

"Numerous mutations can occur within the cycle that lead to impaired conversion from the molecule homocysteine to methionine. The resultant increased levels of homocysteine have been demonstrated to be a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, breakdowns within the cycle can also lead to decreased levels of CoQ10, a critical component of energy production on the cellular level. These decreased levels can also result in congestive heart failure and cardiovascular disease. Ironically, the statin drugs often prescribed to lower cholesterol levels have the unfortunate side effect of lowering the body’s levels of CoQ10."

I would also encourage you to look for ways to reduce anxiety, because that can cause heart events without blockages in the arteries. Our negative emotions have a big impact of the heart, and you can work on resilience and take that out of the mix. Diet and exercise are important too. I am the daughter of a heart patient who at age 50 talked himself into having a heart attack because that is what he believed. He did have blockages and had bypass surgery a few years later. I worried about if I had inherited a tendency for heart disease, and when I was under a lot of stress, I had some chest discomfort and high blood pressure because of the stress. I had a cardiologist test me in my 50's, and I had no blockages anywhere, and the doctor said that was unusual. It was because I was in my 20's when my dad had his heart attack, and at that point in time, we all changed our diets and cut out fat. My dad had diabetes, and he never got past his anger over things in his life he could not control and I saw what it did to him. I made different choices and have learned forgiveness, and patience, and how to build resilience. Doing that will better your health. I recommend reading 2 books by Dr. Sood, a Mayo doctor with a mind body practice. I have them and they are excellent. Myofascial release may help relieve tense areas of the body which helps circulation.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
https://www.resilientoption.com/
https://marketplace.mayoclinic.com/shop/healthy-lifestyle/book/mayo-clinic-resilient-living-combo_752700
https://resilience.mayoclinic.org/
https://www.aaemonline.org/find.php

Thank you, Bluesdoc, for your prompt reply. Seems there is no easy way out of this problem. I will call my cardiologist re chelation. We live in SouthEast Florida. Would you (or anyone else) happen to know of a qualified, ethical expert on chelation in this area?