I have a very high calcium score. What next?

Posted by dpframing @dpframing, Aug 24, 2018

Just joined the site and I'm looking to share with others who have had a high calcium score. I found out today that mine is 2996 and I am scared by this. I am 61 and I am totally asymptomatic. Now I feel like a walking time bomb. I am thinking of requesting an angiogram to see if there's any narrowing anywhere and if it can be corrected with a stent. After a second heart doctor told me that the plaque buildup might be uniform over the course of years with no big problem areas, I am encouraged. But the score still freaks me out, specifically my LAD at 1333. I don't smoke or drink but I have to lose 40 lbs.

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real | @real | Dec 5, 2018

In reply to @tim1028 "The linked Mayo Clinic article on coronary artery calcium scoring is excellent. It refers to the..." + (show)

I agree. But it is still hard knowing your score. I wonder if enough is known about this calcium test and what it really means

real | @real | Dec 5, 2018

Mine was 800 which is low in comparison to yours but I also freaked out. The MD had me do a nuclear stress test which was entirely normal. But I am not entirely at ease so I guess you just live until you have symptoms.

pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 5, 2018

Do you have any arterial blockages or symptoms?

tim1028 | @tim1028 | Dec 5, 2018

In reply to @kanaazpereira "Hello @fedoramenorah, Agatston score is a measure of calcium or calcification detected by coronary CT calcium..." + (show)

The linked Mayo Clinic article on coronary artery calcium scoring is excellent. It refers to the American Heart Association's 'Simple 7' ways to be heart healthy. I have a high CAC score (1560) but do all seven heart healthy recommendations, so my lifestyle is highly likely to help counteract the deleterious effect of a high plaque burden. My cardiologist started me on a high-dose statin and a daily baby aspirin and told me to see him in a year. He said the problem with most of his patients is to get them to make healthy choices that reduce their cardiac risk. What works for me is to make small, conscious changes. Over time these seemingly unremarkable changes add up to big results. 'It's hard by the yard, but a cinch by the inch'

pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 5, 2018

Thanks so much for the links. It doesn't seem that the reason for statins causing an increase in CAC score is fully understood. The fact that a PCSK9 inhibitor + statin lowers the CAC increase, confuses things even more. So many more people are getting CAC Testing and are being faced with the question, to take a statin or not take a statin? Thanks again for your help.

Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator | @kanaazpereira | Dec 5, 2018

Hi @pcspetpro,

I’m not a medical professional, hence would not be able to diagnose or weigh in on medical conditions or questions. What I can do, (at the risk of plying you with more reading:) is cite some recently published studies, which may provide reasonable explanation for us:

– Statins Promote Coronary Calcification? Study Says Yes, and It Might Be a Good Thing https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/842499
– Annual rate of coronary artery calcification with combination therapy (PCSK9 inhibitor and statin) is lower than that with statin monotherapy: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-018-0026-2

You’ve asked a very interesting, albeit much-debated question, and I’d like to bring in @predictable @thankful @ch246cf10 @bigbern @bluesdoc into this conversation as well. I hope this helps; I look forward to hearing more from you.

pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 5, 2018

In reply to @kanaazpereira "Hello @fedoramenorah, Agatston score is a measure of calcium or calcification detected by coronary CT calcium..." + (show)

Hi Kanaaz, Can you explain why the CAC score can go up when taking statins?

Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator | @kanaazpereira | Dec 5, 2018

Hello @fedoramenorah,

Agatston score is a measure of calcium or calcification detected by coronary CT calcium scan. Hence, I moved your discussion to this conversation, where you can meet the many members who are talking about high calcium score.
If you click on VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, you will see the whole discussion and can join in, meet, and participate with other members talking about their or their loved ones' experiences.

A high Agatston/calcium score does not mean that you will have a heart attack, only that there is a greater likelihood of having one than someone with a low score. Here’s an interesting Mayo Clinic article which I would encourage you to view:
– https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/cardiovascular-diseases/news/coronary-artery-calcium-score-are-we-doing-too-many-or-too-few/mcc-20438011

pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 5, 2018

In reply to @fedoramenorah "In 2008 my 58 year old husband had a coronary CT scan. Results were: Volume130- LMA..." + (show)

Are there any arterial blockages? What is the statin dose? Is blood pressure high? How much protein per day?

dpframing | @dpframing | Dec 5, 2018

In reply to @fedoramenorah "In 2008 my 58 year old husband had a coronary CT scan. Results were: Volume130- LMA..." + (show)

Taking low dose of BP med. 40 mg statin . I had to have an angiogram- no stents needed. Calcium was in the walls of the arteries - like my md suspected. From a previous event - no heart stack but I did abuse amphetamine was I was younger.

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