Living with high calcium score

Thanks Mike! I've been on a statin since I was 34, 20mg for nearly twenty years. My Dr just upped it to 80mg. I'm optimistic but don't believe that will get my LDL (currently 82) to 50mg or lower. Once we recheck the numbers in October I'm gonna push for Repatha, I've read nothing but positive feedback from other on here.

@james617
Keep doing what you are doing and most importantly, what you enjoy. A high CAC score does not necessarily mean trouble. It appears you are doing what you should as far as exercise and nutrition. I am sure your Dr will prescribe some type of statin to halp keep the plaque hard and not soft. Please dont worry too much at this point. Life is short and you will be fine.

I've been an avid gym goer since I was 17. At 56 I still train hard, but never beyond losing form or extreme exertion. My cholesterol numbers were alway good until recently when I was diagnosed with with a high LAP (170) which led to a CT scan, which revealed a score of 725. Most of it in the LAD (592). I've never smoked, eat very clean and don't have much to change in my lifestyle. I've even cut out alcohol which was 2-3 seltzer drinks a week. I asked my Dr if I need to stop exercising? He said no, if I'm feeling fine, which I am; keep going. I also do 3-4 weeks of cardio, usually the stairmaster for 40-50 minutes along with jumping rope. Just got an EKG, came back negative. Stress test is scheduled for late October and Echocardiogram for November. It's been a lot to process over the last month, I'm happy to have found this forum. Good luck!

@71young https://www.google.com/search

@carlnh I'm not certain statins do not clear plaque. My cardio told me that when your ldl number is below 45 is when statins actually do begin to clear plaque. I'm curious what others have to say about this.

Very similar to you, except I have a 784 CAC and am 71 years old. Same size as you (now), no previous indications or symptoms just a lower than average heart rate and blood pressure which led to the CT Scan, just because, why not, I was sure I would pass this one too. I was put on 20 MG Atorvastatin, which lowered my bad LDL from 85 to 39. Today, I still play tennis, and workout 6 days a week with strength training and interval running, peak heart rates into 160 - 170 bpm for 20 to 30 minutes with continued moderate to vigorous rates for another 40 minutes. I changed my diet eliminating alcohol and almost no meat. I feel great. The initial diagnosis scared me to the bone, and during my first year cut back on all my activities and slowly started to add things while in contact with my Cardiologist. I am closing in on a year of being back to normal (fully active) and looking forward to my blood work results. Looking to add a CIMT to my data bank. I think that changing my diet, no more beer, pizza, and burger with fries has allowed me to continue my more active lifestyle while keeping my statin dose lower. I know my CAC numbers will not get better, but I'm hoping they won't get worse. But it sounds like you were already there with your diet. I would definitely consult with your medical team and let them know what your desires are. I would think they would encourage being active, unless they suspect something different. So far, I THINK my progression has worked for me, but I did have friends (one with a known heart issue, the other thought to be superman) that I lost while pursuing their activities. Right now I have faith in my medical team, but maybe it's because they are cautiously allowing me to participate in an active life. Good Luck.

Statins do not clear plaque but, rather, reduce further accumulation.

@71young based on unknown side effects I would want to reduce my dosage and see if the numbers do change and if the lifestyle changes helped.

I recently scored 480 on a CAC, all in the main artery and immediately started 40mgs of crestor. Along with moderate exercise, I drastically modified my diet to include mainly fatty fish, lean chicken and turkey, tofu, legumes and egg whites for protein, loads of leafy greens and whole wheat grains, blueberries, walnuts and bitter chocolate for snacks. After 4 months, my cholesterol dropped from 256 to 130 and my ldl from 165 to 43. Although i had no side effects from the statin, i requested to drop my dosage from 40mg to 20mg fearing unknown long term side effects but my Cardio advised me to stay with the higher dosage. He explained that any number over 300 on a CAC carries the same risk as that of someone who has already experienced a heart attack, and that if I lowered my dosage, my test scores and risk would increase. He also explained that when ldl numbers are below 50 is when the statins really take aim at reducing/clearing existing plaque. Heredity plays a role in those on this thread who claim to be super healthy yet experience high test scores.

Cont- time to stop and rest and not over do it …..