Cardiac calcium score - reversing heart disease

[Kirk]

Yep, I should have said "cardiologist" rather than simply "doc" above. He thinks I'm doing the essential things.

As a side note the cardiology waiting room is a depressing place...

[Sangoma]

When you say you have fair bit of plague on CT are you referring to the original calcium score?

In sny case, your calculated risk is low, and even bringing your LDL down is not going to reduce it much more. You can lose some body fat, and reduced intake that is necessary for that is likely to be beneficial for your health.

[Kirk]

When you say you have fair bit of plague on CT are you referring to the original calcium score?

Yep

In sny case, your calculated risk is low, and even bringing your LDL down is not going to reduce it much more. You can lose some body fat, and reduced intake that is necessary for that is likely to be beneficial for your health.

Yeah, I'm not feeling any sense of alarm and talking to the cardiologist took away what discomfort I had. My next area to prioritize is giving yoga an honest try. I'll think about knocking some fat off after that.

[Turdacious]

My LDLs were in the 120s. My vegetable intake was good, but I added at least a cup of beans/day and now its in the 70s/80s.

Does it matter what type of beans?

Does preparation matter? (ie canned, dried and you soak them or whatever)

If you prepare them yourself, soaking them makes them cook more evenly and makes you more pleasant to be around (i.e. less gassy).

[Cayenne]

Here it is, the calculator.

http://www.cvriskcalculator.com/

If your risk is below 10% calcium score testing is not indicated in the first place.

Sangoma, is this basically saying that in this low risk pop., statins are not helpful? How is "low risk" defined? At 58 y.o., lifelong recreational exerciser, 110/70 BP, 50 RHR, cholesterol all in range, I had a TIA about 2 weeks ago. (Brief episodes of aphasia and slight face droop on rt. side). TPA was administered and symptoms fully resolved quickly. Admitted to hospital for 2 days of testing. Brain MRI, CT scans w/ contrast & w/o, TEE, etc. All negative. No AFib in 3 days of monitoring, but having a Loop Recorder installed for ongoing recording. I am told that in 30% of cases, no cause is found. I have been healthy all my life, never on a med. Now I'm on aspirin and Lipitor has been Rx'd, but I have not started and don't want to.

[Sangoma]

Cayenne, I am out of my depth in regards to your situation. Low risk asymptomatic people don't seem to significantly benefit from statins. How the outcome changes with the history of TIA I don't know. I have seen a study where taking statins after TIA reduced the risk of stroke later by about 20% and coronary events by about 30%.

At this stage the Guidelines of AHA do recommend an anti-platelet agent and a statin after TIA. I will have a look around for opinions and will let you know if I find something important.

[Cayenne]

Cayenne, I am out of my depth in regards to your situation. Low risk asymptomatic people don't seem to significantly benefit from statins. How the outcome changes with the history of TIA I don't know. I have seen a study where taking statins after TIA reduced the risk of stroke later by about 20% and coronary events by about 30%.

At this stage the Guidelines of AHA do recommend an anti-platelet agent and a statin after TIA. I will have a look around for opinions and will let you know if I find something important.

That is very kind and generous of you Sangoma. Thank you.

[Kirk]

I had my 6 month follow up blood test last week. The numbers changed quite a bit.
Total chol from 338 to 183
HDL from 64 to 66
LDL from 243 to 99
Triglycerides from 153 to 89

[JimZipCode]

I had my 6 month follow up blood test last week. The numbers changed quite a bit.
Total chol from 338 to 183
HDL from 64 to 66
LDL from 243 to 99
Triglycerides from 153 to 89

Was it the beans?

[Grandpa's Spells]

More likely the statin

[Kirk]

It'd be nice to know what contribution each change made but I needed to eat better anyway so it doesn't really matter. I didn't add a lot of beans as they were already a staple for me. I had a coupon for a dexa scan ($25) so I now have a ballpark idea of my body fat (19%). I'm thinking of knocking off about 10 lbs to see if it impacts my blood pressure, which is ok but not great.