I have a very high calcium score. What next?

Hello hikerguy62...I wish someone would study my case. I feel great(for an almost 79 year old male). I walk 7 days a week sometimes twice per day. My apartment is second floor with 14 steps which I traverse 10-12 times per day. I do have plaque presumably throughout my system but it has been there long enough to be dispersed and hard. Also time has allowed for "angiogenesis" of my heart. Look it up . It's a very well known phenomenon where the body develops alternate circulation. Sometimes good, sometimes troublesome.
I will save stents and other procedures for the day(s) when angina interferes with my life or when fatigue sets in.
That's my story and I'm sticking' with it.

Hello hikerguy62...I wish someone would study my case. I feel great(for an almost 79 year old male). I walk 7 days a week sometimes twice per day. My apartment is second floor with 14 steps which I traverse 10-12 times per day. I do have plaque presumably throughout my system but it has been there long enough to be dispersed and hard. Also time has allowed for "angiogenesis" of my heart. Look it up . It's a very well known phenomenon where the body develops alternate circulation. Sometimes good, sometimes troublesome.
I will save stents and other procedures for the day(s) when angina interferes with my life or when fatigue sets in.
That's my story and I'm sticking' with it.

@pumaguy79 At a CAC score of 8000, did you ever need a stent? Have you ever felt any chest pain? That's quite a score! My score this past March was 2534 (at 61 years of age). Absolutely asymptomatic at this point. I consider myself pretty fit for my age. I walk about a mile 5-6x a week, exercise every other day (sandbag training), mostly vegetarian, no alcohol, no smoking. I was put on 20mg Crestor/Rosuvastatin shortly after receiving my score and started taking D3, K2 and CoQ10 shortly after receiving my score. I chose NOT to go on a baby aspirin though due to the risk of stroke, brain hemorrhage and stomach ulcers.

Just curious how you feel with a score that high.

Thanks,

Andy

In some ways I too wish I had not gotten the test. No one can adequately explain what it means.
My cardiologist says my score didn't go to 3500 overnight, I figure I was over 400 (very high risk) for over 10 years. So I am overdue for a heart event. What a way to live.
My health has deteriorated since because I can't tolerate rosuvastatin, now down to 5mg but still have aches in the buttocks and legs.
On the other hand, I don't want to dismiss conventional medical thinking.

I tried Prluent and my LDL plunged as did overall cholesterol numbers. of course then my insurance stopped paying so I’ve switched to Repatha which is I’m told similar. Whatever you do, I’ve listened and read a lot of info about this including this board which I too enjoy. From what I’ve discovered, the best treatment is a combo of statins and a PSK9 inhibitor like Praluent or Repatha and I believe Leqvio is in that category. I’m a journalist and am soon going to write an article about the stress caused by people having this test. I wish I had never taken it. It’s changed my outlook about my own health and I’m not really sure it means anything. Statins, which I’ve taken for years, are designed to calcify plaque so it’s not dangerous. So does the fact that my score is 642 (my wife’s is 0 and she has not taken statins) mean I’m somehow at risk? I’m not convinved.

I am in the same boat, 60 yr. Old female, have always been healthy, CAC of 585, (472 in my LAD) of my total score, statins have not agreed with me at all, I am doing red yeast rice 600 mg/day, my chol. numbers have decreased in 6 weeks, cholesterol is 201 down from 238, LDL 126, down from 151, I walk 36 miles a week and quit smoking 8 weeks ago, and cut out diary. I wish I had never taken the test, I live in fear of a cardiac event daily (certainly no way to live). I asked my cardiologists if we should do a cath or stent, he said no, Cath’s are too dangerous and no symptoms to indicate needing a stent, sadly when you have symptoms it might be too late. There seems to be a big void in testing AFTER the calcium test to know if you are actually okay. They don’t want you to repeat the test, but they say the score can only get worse, it cannot decrease no matter what medications you take. The scary thing is that you can hopefully keep it from progressing but if you are already at a “high risk” level you just feel like a walking time bomb, there has to be a better way to test patients at high risk levels on a monthly basis so that we don’t live in fear. Does improving your numbers really help? I have seen where people have normal Chol. numbers but have high CAC scores, and no real explanation. Also, testing for hard plaque versus soft plaque would be helpful after you get a high CAC score. I really enjoy this forum as I find it very informative hearing from others that are enduring the same health issues. Has anyone had good results from the red yeast rice?

Well put @christianzane! I'm still struggling to mentally get past the original diagnosis from June, but I've dropped from 250 to 228lbs, I jog/walk 2 miles a day, take a statin and aspirin (with some muscle spasms during long drives) and eating a med. based diet. I'm still needing guidance from a nutritionist as there are many perspectives on how we should be eating, but so far low carb and low fat is getting the weight off and I'm starting to come off blood pressure meds too. I think it isn't stated enough that your risk is greatly reduced if you follow the 7 things you state in your post. Really, your risk is very close to that of the general population if not better because you will be in such great physical shape and other causes of disease and death will also be greatly reduced.