• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Heart Calcium Scans?

Jane56

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello. I have had type 2 for over 2 years but haven't posted before. When I was diagnosed my number was 62. I was on metformin slow release for the first year but then it started to give me heart palpitations and very dodgy stomach. I then went diet controlled using LCHF and have so far got it down to 48. BP is also ok according to my GP. However my cholesterol has shot up from 5.4 to 7.5 over the last year. The HDL is 1.7. That's all I know as the GP says there's not a reading for the rest! The GP has been pushing the statins for a few months. I have always declined but then decided to get a heart calcium scan done with Lifescan to settle the matter once and for all, feeling quite confident that the calcium score would be low enough so that I would not need to take the statins so I could then tell my GP I won't take them. However, I got the result last Tuesday and it is markedly elevated and very high indeed. Since then I have been too afraid to eat very much in case I keel over from a heart attack and have dropped half a stone since Tuesday. I went to my GP who had never heard of the scans! He says he is going to email a Cardiologist to get his opionion on what needs to be done and suggested I might need an angiogram to see if there are blockages. I-am now worried to death and wish I had never had it done. Has anyone else had this done and if so, what was the outcome?
 
Hi @Jane56

I had a angiogram around 5 years ago, it's a painless procedure done under local anaesthetic and the cardiologist told me straight away the results of the test, try not to worry about it too much if a angiogram is requested. Good luck.
 
The British Heart Foundation have this to say about CT calcium scans of the heart:-
However, a moderate or high score isn’t that useful as sometimes moderate or high calcium plaques don’t cause problems and there’s no evidence that treating people with these scores has any benefit. https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/medical/imaging-techniques/ct-scans​
 
Have a look at these. I found them illuminating. And it is one of the reasons I supplement with vitamin K2.


and


and then there are Ivor Cummins talks on the CAC scan test.

short version (34 mins)

and another version, a bit longer (44 mins)
 
Last edited:
Thankyou all for the advice. Waiting for my GP to email the Cardiologist for his opinion which he says could take a couple of weeks. I am a worrier, especially with health issues. Trying not to dwell on it too much but every twinge I get which I probably never noticed before, is a big deal at the moment. Yes I am dreading the thought of an angiogram as I'm very squeamish about anything to do with hearts!
 
 
I do take Vitamin D3 and have been doing so for a few months. I will start taking the K2 now. What is the normal daily dosage and can you take it with a statin? My GP has me on Pravastatin (the only one I can seem to tolerate) 10mg every other day so a very low dose for the first few weeks. Also as well as taking the K2 do you also take D3 or is it wise to stop that? Sorry for all the questions!
 

I should have a google for drug interactions. That is all most docs would do to check for interactions between drugs, herbs and supplements.
This is the one I use:
http://reference.medscape.com/drug-interactionchecker

As for the K2 dose. I am taking 200 units daily, based on quite a bit of reading round. But i think everyone needs to make their own decision on this. Personally I prefer the natto derived K2 rather than the synthetic version. I haven't yet seen any evidence that even huge doses are harmful.
This link is in line with a lot of my reading,
http://omegavia.com/vitamin-k2-part-2/
but bear in mind, the link is to commercial site

I have also increased my dietary sources of K2 rich cheese and use grass fed butter.

Also have a read around on the relationship between D3 and K2. My own view is that we need K2 to use D3 properly.

Please realise that I am NOT an expert on this. I am just interested in the subject, and have a personal history of Vit D deficiency, which is what started me reading around on the subject. so please do the same, and check everything that anybody suggests to you before you actually start acting on their suggestions.

While you are doing that checking, it is worth remembering that any info source that confuses K2 with plain old Vit K and Vit K1 (for blood clotting) is confused, and their info shouldn't be trusted.
 
Ok thankyou for this. I have cut right back on.butter, cheese etc since getting my result although it feels wrong to do so but as I say, it has scared me a lot. Beginning to wish I hadn't had it done the test although maybe it will turn out for the best that I did.
 
I understood that the calcium plaques were not harmful in themselves as they stabilised the lesions. But the scan was a good measure of the extent of the underlying problem. It would show whether there was any immediate need to adjust one's diet, life-style etc. to reduce the rate of progress of the disease, or whether there was also a need for more invasive treatment.
 
noblehead said:
Hi @Jane56

I had a angiogram around 5 years ago, it's a painless procedure done under local anaesthetic and the cardiologist told me straight away the results of the test, try not to worry about it too much if a angiogram is requested. Good luck.
Click to expand...

noblehead said:
Hi @Jane56

I had a angiogram around 5 years ago, it's a painless procedure done under local anaesthetic and the cardiologist told me straight away the results of the test, try not to worry about it too much if a angiogram is requested. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Jane56 should however remember that all invasive procedures carry risks and she should make sure these are explained to her properly beforehand. She should only have it done if, on balance, she intends to undergo the recommended treatment once she has been told the result.
 

It would be good to see a followup post I hope that you have been getting sensible nutritional advice to reverse your CAC risk score.

For future reference cutting back on Fats like butter and cheese etc is completely the wrong diet to follow for reducing risk of cardio vascular disease and Atherosclerosis etc.

It is the long term consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates in out diet that causes metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance that leads to CVD and strokes and Type 2 Diabetes and all the other chronic diseases that are on the increase.

Search on youtube for ' The Widowmaker' and 'Ivor Cummins' Irish Heart Disease Awareness Charity
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…