I have a very high calcium score. What next?

Hello everyone. Just turned 65. Very active. Play competitive singles tennis 3 times a week. Had two guys at our club in mid 50’s drop dead. A third had the calcium ct scan. 606 score, failed nuclear stress test. Cath showed major blockages. He had a triple bypass.

So I went. Score of 724! Then had nuclear stress with negative results. No symptoms, no chest pain. Stress test was easy.

Cholesterol levels very good past 4 years. Doc put me on 10mg Crestor, 50mg Toprol XL and baby aspirin. BP usually 134/82 average so started me on the ToprolXL.

Haven’t been able to get to the other specifics of the tests because of the coronavirus they are not able to see other patients until mid April.

I’m thrown for a loop as all of this has happened so fast when I thought I was in great shape.

Hello everyone. Just turned 65. Very active. Play competitive singles tennis 3 times a week. Had two guys at our club in mid 50’s drop dead. A third had the calcium ct scan. 606 score, failed nuclear stress test. Cath showed major blockages. He had a triple bypass.

So I went. Score of 724! Then had nuclear stress with negative results. No symptoms, no chest pain. Stress test was easy.

Cholesterol levels very good past 4 years. Doc put me on 10mg Crestor, 50mg Toprol XL and baby aspirin. BP usually 134/82 average so started me on the ToprolXL.

Haven’t been able to get to the other specifics of the tests because of the coronavirus they are not able to see other patients until mid April.

I’m thrown for a loop as all of this has happened so fast when I thought I was in great shape.

Stress may be a very important cause of cardiovascular disease. Stress is the external force placed on an object, or a human being. Strain is the resulting deformation or damage that can occur. Therefore, it is the resultant strain that is the driver of CVD or ill health.

Hi @pslitton19 and welcome to Connect! You may have noticed I moved your post to this existing discussion on high calcium scores so that you can learn from what others have said about their scores as well as interact with them and receive and offer support. Simply click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification to get to your post.

I want to thank @pcspetpro for welcoming you and also wanted to introduce you to @predictable @thankful @ch246cf10 @bigbern and @bluesdoc as they may be able to offer you support while you look to lower your score.

Back to you @pslitton19, I'd like to repeat the question @pcspetpro posed, what is your diet?

Many things can contribute to athrosclorosis, what is your diet?

I have a calcium score of 131.45. Presently taking blood pressure med, and just started med for cholesterol even though my numbers were good on my present blood work. I have started a statin, but am scared. My weight is 134 pounds with my height being 5 4.5 inches. All of my life I have been slim but now this pops up. What the heck. I am walking, almost on a daily basis and trying to cut my weight down. My doctor says I am OK, because I have never smoked, not overweight, no diabetes, and blood pressure is under control. Should I be scared?

Hi everyone,

I thought you might be interested in seeing this Video Q&A that took place a few days ago – Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Gayatri Acharya and Dr. Stephen Kopecky, talk about statins:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinar/video-qa-about-statins/

Hi @pcspetpro. Glad @kanaazpereira invited me into this discussion again. I share your confusion about whether statins are reliable responses to calcification of arteries or not. I'm particularly interested in "Statins Promote Coronary Calcification? Study Says Yes . . ." It looks to me as though this is a common case of a bad misleading headline.

In the first paragraph of the story under the headline, you'll see that "In the analysis, statins, specifically high-intensity statin therapy, actually promoted coronary calcification despite regressing the volume of coronary atheroma." Notice that the headline gives no attention or credence to "high-intensity statin therapy" as a major factor in calcium contents of debris deposits on the internal lining of an artery. As you suggest, there was some mysterious capability of statins to affect changes in calcium and low-density lipids and doing so in contrasting directions under differing conditions. Unfortunately, the mystery was reported for this study four years ago and might have been solved more recently, but if so, I didn't find that information. Even so, give that report a good read and see if you get a different impression of how calcium deposits in arteries are affected by statins. As Kanaaz says, that's a matter of long-term controversy.

Yes, the stress test will only "show" blockages of more then 70%. "I plan on taking another CAC Test in about 18 months." Be careful of the repeated short term (18 mo) radiation exposure!

I passed a stress test with imaging, but I don't know if I have any blockages that are more than 50%. I have increased my exercise regimen, and I'm experimenting with diet and exercise. The goal is to stabilize plaque and keep plaque progression to a minimum. I plan on taking another CAC Test in about 18 months. Let me know how your nuclear stress test goes, they should be able to accurately tell you the blockage percentage . Phil