Coronary Calcium Score test - British Heart Fou...

British Heart Foundation

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Coronary Calcium Score test

Bazza1234 profile image
14 Replies

I know that many people have never heard of this type of CT scan - I think this webpage webmd.com/heart-disease/cor... discusses well how this test can help some people in determining their future cardiac risk. I had extremely high cholesterol readings for 30 years and had resisted taking statins in an attempt to reduce the levels - after all I had no other risk factors, non-smoking, god blood pressure, not overweight, exercised regularly for years - but I was found to have a high count of 600 . I was soon convinced to start taking medication by the appearance of the scans and the risk calculator that had me at a 40% chance of a major heart attack within the next 3 years. A reduction of my cholesterol numbers to what they recommended has now halved that risk % . But who knows - might still have a heart attack sometime in the future, but in the meantime I am enjoying life and have taken up long distance running and thoroughly enjoying the company of the running community ( at age 71!! ) :) Friends say that I might have a heart attack when out running on the road - my answer is "that is the plan - so long as it is a good one and not a half - hearted one. At my age, I am statistically likely to die from firstly a car accident, secondly some kind of cancer and thirdly a heart attack . The first two don't appeal to me at all!! :)

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Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234
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14 Replies
jimmyq profile image
jimmyq

In my family, it is either heart attack or the drink that gets you. I am going for the drink as it is more fun!

emjay18 profile image
emjay18

Am I correct in assuming that it was your calcium score that was 600 ? If so what medication did you take to reduce that value ? Mine is 1828 and I am investigating the best form of vitamin k 2 to take. Any suggestions ?

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234 in reply to emjay18

Can't help you with the Vitamin K - I have read about it and claims made for it's usage but am uncertain about it. My understanding is that the calcification that I now have is irreversible - but it of itself is not the biggest problem , it is merely an indication of higher quantities of uncalcified plaque in my arteries. It is this that needs to be stopped in it's progression. I have decided to go down the path of statins as a means of doing this. It has greatly reduced my cholesterol levels but it won't do anything about reducing the calcium score test number. I understand that number to be the sum total of my life ( in terms of cardio-vascular) - just as the lack of hair on my head is !! :)

emjay18 profile image
emjay18 in reply to Bazza1234

I believe that there are other implications to a high CI. I have read some literature that suggests that Vit k2 is useful. vide ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/155...

Paul12 profile image
Paul12 in reply to Bazza1234

Two things to remember; 1. Statins INCREASE calcium score but this is said to be protective 2. Calcium score can definitely be reduced / there is a lot of evidence provided in the book Wheat Belly

Paul12 profile image
Paul12

You can have a zero calcium score BUT a very high Insulin Resistance Score, high NMR/VAP test and high PLAC test. So even if calcium score comes down make sure you have the other tests

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234 in reply to Paul12

My understanding is that the calcium score number NEVER reduces. The only thing that changes is that we can enter a different age category and the percentile rating can be changed because of that. All we can do is to try to prevent the calcium score number from increasing. The significance of the number is that it is an indication of the amount of "soft" plaque in the arteries - the higher the number , the more soft plaque - and it is really the soft unstable plaques that are the problem. In many respects ( except one) all of these tests are quite useless - they only tell us we have a problem , not how to "cure" it. The one good result of the calcium score test is that is that it looks you squarely in the face and you can no longer deny that you have a problem ( eg not do anything about your high cholesterol levels) - which MUST be corrected as much as possible.

emjay18 profile image
emjay18 in reply to Bazza1234

I read this in the discussions following a YouTube talk by Ivor Cumings

" C D

2 months ago

Dropped my husbands CAC 116 points in exactly one year. Zero statins or drugs. We are not vegan. We eat grass fed beef and a LOT of grass fed butter. Distilled water only - no tap water - is also a key component for his CAC score drop in my opinion..... "

There are several such reports. They have made me think a lot. My CAC was 1800 in April

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234 in reply to emjay18

Who knows??? - this single claim can hardly be called "science". My CAC was 900 at age 70. The age thing is important as they then calculate what percentile you are in for your age group. I was in the 70% percentile which basically means that 70% of my age group are in a better position than me CAC-wise. BUT - when I look at the average 70+ years old in the shopping malls, I don't see it - most are obese, unfit, unwell. I have come to accept that there are worse things than dying!!! :)

Paul12 profile image
Paul12

I disagree. The calcium score gives you totally useless information IF the score is 0. If it is high you're in trouble. If it is zero you could still have numerous dangerous particles, still have very high PLAC test, still have very high Insulin Resistance.

So - what's the point?

Save the radiation - have a PLAC and VAP/NMR test.

Much better.

OR have no test at all, assume the worst and drastically change your lifestyle accordingly

Paul12 profile image
Paul12

I think the Eatwell guide was pretty much destroyed by Zowie Harcombe....

Paul12 profile image
Paul12

The Eatwell Guide replaced the Eatwell Plate. bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

Things change...

NICE persistently refuse to recommend CQ10 to those who take statins and yet....

Love100cats profile image
Love100cats

Please tell me more about the diet. Is there a book? Is it low salt?

Zindolo profile image
Zindolo

I started seeing a cardiologist in 2020 at the advice of my GP. I'm in Texas, where the healthcare system is profit-based, unfortunately. This cardiologist did a bunch of tests including the calcium test, which scored a 504, and told me I needed to replace my bicuspid aortic valve because it had calcified. After everything was done, I could see on my insurance website's page that the bill totaled over half a million dollars! They told me I would feel SO much better, 20 years younger, blah blah blah... At this point, 3 years later, I'm feeling pretty sure that I was duped into having that done when I didn't really need it, and I would have to say that I actually feel much WORSE! Zero stamina, mainly. But I can't go back and undo it, obviously. I was chatting with an OR nurse while swimming about a year ago, and she claimed that she sees a HUGE number of people getting procedures done that she doesn't think they need, altho she didn't go into detail about how or why she thought that. But I'm sure the obscene amounts of money involved would be a pretty good guess!!!

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