Doctors don't know what to do with
you. Your METS and EF are in the
professional athlete category.
How can you be so fit and yet not be
healthy. So as a fall back --- not
wanting to do nothing-- they will
recommend something like Crestor
or lipidtor. Except for your score
you have no symptoms !
They are actually waiting for you to
have an "event" .....only then will
they take action. They follow a protocol
First: Heart Cath
Second : Stent or bypass
Everything is a response there is
nothing PREVENTIVE.
Thanks Flycaster305. The cath report did not specify blockages, % of blockages nor location of blockages. They described each vessel in terms of size and degree of diffusion. This is contrary to what I see in other reports posted on the internet! The doctor did not see a need to do a stent. He advised ,as you suggested , of high dose medical therapy and life style changes.
You have a very, very high ejection fraction which must give you great relief. Were you given word of any particular blockages, and if so, to what degree? Moderate means to me you have some cholesterol in your arteries.
You have lots of options. Diet and exercise are extremely important. Smoking should stop if you do, it will kill you. Every time someone lights up a cigarette, arteries tend to be affected. Same with being overweight and diabetic. If you develop a blockage and you get some angina and breathlessness, and certainly a stent can be inserted. I've now got eleven. Bypass can be an option. Staying on a statin drug is a must, in my opinion. I'd suggest you live as healthy of a life as possible and stay away from heart tests unless symptoms suggest you need something.
The calcium score was done by certified hospital. Having such high score caused me a great deal of concern. I finally ended with an echo with doppler which produced negative results, The EKG portion of the excercise Coariolite was positive for ischemia despite achieving 13.4 METs of workload on the treadmill with no chest pain and an ejection frraction of 65%. A coronary angiogram was orderd and showed moderate diffuse disease throughout all three coronary arteries including LAD, left circumflex and right coronary artery. Preserved LV function and diastolic pressures were normal. For thsose that might be able to help please provide feed back on the following:
1-What are the surgical options that are available if chest pain or shortness of breath develop?
2- Are stints possible with diffused arteries?
Diet and lifestyle certainly impact cholesterol levels. That said, calcium build-up may or not be dangerous, depending if it is 'soft' or 'hard', and also your liver may be the culprit. I'm not the health professional you wanted to hear from, but I am someone with a lot of experience with cholesterol.
Questions: was the calcium score done by a certified clinic or hospital? Why not have an angiogram to determine the cholesterol buildup in your Coronary Arteries? I totally agree with Occupant. I'd exercise daily and react to breathlessness or chest discomfort that isn't sharp but that continue to increase or migrate.
Thanks for your advice Occupant. I just feel backed down by the medical community who told us for years that if you control your BP and cholesterol and live a healthy life style your risk of heart disease and heart events would be low. Only to find out that Calcium was building up and presenting a serious risk when you were given a clean bill of health all along. Also how could we be so much out of range on the Heart Calcium score without an early detection. The range is 1- 400 with 400 being a high risk and we are at triple this score! Could some one from the medical community please explain?
I am in a similar predicament, although my Calcium Score is somewhat higher at 1243 - two years ago. I had been taking Statin drugs for ~12 years and during that time the Calcium Phosphate built up to where it is now. Mine was an ordinary CT Scan, so in that case the soft plaque doesn't show. Perhaps if you get a 64-slice or even a 128-slice scan you might get more of the soft plaque to show, but I've read about many of those scans where it was also missed. The only proof positive would be an Angiogram, but cardiologists are reluctant to order it if you have no Angina at all and can exercise normally. Do what I do: nothing.
Thank you for your response to my question. I truly appreciate your answer which was consistent with my cardiologist recommendation.
Thank you Greg. I had visited there website and it looks good . I have yet to read about the total cost including the two to five week stay , cost of shots , transportation and other logistics expenses. Also the reliability of this process in terms of side effects which they claim to be none and other complications if any.
I would appreciate your input on this as this unique process if successful and reliable it could save the lives of millions of people around the world.
I went to my cardiologist and as you predicted he did not feel that a stint or by pass is needed at this juncture. He asked that I do another echo cardiogram since the nuclear stress test was two years old and he put me on Crestor medication in conjunction with the know life style modifications.
What surprises me that neither my family doctor nor my cardiologist were able to give me any specifics about my calcium score test beyond total score and percentage... my questions are :
1- Do I have the right to know what my scores are for individual arteries
2- Should they review with me the x rays images showing the size and distribution of the Calcium and any potential blocked areas
3- Calcium areas vs Calcium score
4- Does the score reflect soft plaque. If it does not and with a CTA of approx. 1200 Am I a walking bomb.
5- Why would a score that has zero to 400 range ( low risk to very high risk)allow for reading that extends to several thousands. Does this make sense. Could some one please explain this to me. I have read so many articles touting this CTA without any coverage to patients who scored in several thousands range.
6- A gentleman in this community shared with me that there is a company in Hungry has developed a unique immunization process that could eliminate Calcium in arteries in 6 weeks. This is fantastic news .. what is the latest research tells us in the USA... could any cardiologist update us on this topic.
7- I knew I had been diagnosed with high cholesterol and high blood pressure for about 9 years and I have been taking the medications to control both. My BP and Cholesterol numbers are within the specified ranges. Every year I have been giving a clean bill of heath only to find out that I have building Calcium all along. Can a doctor please explain?
If you are looking for a final solution against atherosclerosis, I suggest to check the immunization-process, it was a life saver for me. It is a unique vaccine treatment by a hungarian professor, the thing teaches our body to make some kind of antibodies against the disposed cholesterol molecules. My calcified cholesterol is absolutely gone!
Search for International Life Care Hungary on google for it.
greg
I would ask my doctor, but I certainly don't think they will take any action with a negative nuclear stress test which indicates your arteries are most likely clear. Stay on your meds as directed by your doctor and live heart healthy lifestyle.