I have a very high calcium score. What next?

Yes, @real

It looks as if your healthy lifestyle has given you more years!

I just turned 73 and figure that I now have outlived my Dad by 13 years. His diet was not healthy and not much exercise which is opposite of me, so I hope that by living better will extend my life further. But you can't escape family history and genes unfortunately.

That is very understandable, @real.

Having a family history where your dad died at age 60 is certainly a serious consideration for you. You are wise to continue to seek answers and be your own advocate. By the way, how old are you currently?

I had no symptoms at all but my Dad died at age 60 from atherosclerosis so my primary doctor suggested I have the ct heart calcium scan which showed a result of 579 and said I was worse than 70% in my age group. He then sent me to a cardiologist who suggested taking a nuclear stress test and the results were very normal. Hence the confusion. I plan to pursue this a little further and will explore going to the Mayo Clinic. Other than that both of my doctors said to continue on my diet, take aspirin and the statin and I should be fine. Somehow that did not alleviate my anxiety.

Hi @real

I see that this was your first post on Connect, welcome!

I am sorry to hear of your confusion between the two doctors. That is really frustrating isn't it?

If you are comfortable sharing more, what type of symptoms were you having prior to learning about the high calcium score?

As @lioness said in her post, it is important to be your own advocate, especially if you have a concern. Please remember that it is always your right to get a second opinion in order to put your mind at ease.

Have you considered another seeing another cardiologist for a second opinion?

What was your calcium score (mine is over 1000)? The CT just quantifies the amount of calcified plaque in your arteries (usually only 20 is calcified so you probably have 5 times the amount of plaque). The stress test measure whether the plaque is causing stenosis (blockage) which if over 70% usually results in a stent. The fact that you had a good stress test means your heart is getting enough blood, but the fact that you have so much plaques means that if it ruptures you could have a piece break off and cause a heart attack or stroke. I'm in the same boat. As long as you are asymptomatic the treatment is really just healthy lifestyle changes and meds and cross your fingers! Now that you know you are at risk you know not to treat any symptoms lightly and head to the ER as soon as you feel anything unusual.

@real Sorry you didn't get anything positive 23 yrs ago my Dr sent me to a cardiologist after listening to my symptoms he sent me into hospital for a heart catheterization where this showed I had blockages in 3arteries so had a triple by pass this year will be 23 years I'm doing fine so if you feel something isnt right be proactive you are your best advocate

I recently had a heart calcium ct scan which showed a high buildup of calcium and the lower arteries at the request of my primary physician. He then sent me to a cardiologist who had me go through a nuclear stress test which was completely normal. So two tests with opposite results which make me wonder about the value of either test. My primary physician told me his father went through the stress test with normal results and had a heart attack shortly thereafter. It would appear that some physicians that request the heart calcium ct scan do not know what the results mean. At this point I am not sure what to do further as I am being told to sit tight as everything appears OK for now. Has anyone gone through a similar situation and if so, what was the further action?

Ok yesterday, I had a massive gout attack. The only other one I had was in 2007 and by avoiding some foods, it was the only one. Now I'm on statins and I feel that they caused the gout. No gout in 11 years and I just lost 17 lbs. and I have been eating right. My heart doctor says no but I really think it's the statins.

Thanks, @keithl56, that's good information. My doc didn't mention the possibility of liver problems from the increased dosage (40 to 80). I wonder if I should inquire...