I am going to be 74 this Sunday and a dear friend passed away recently of sudden heart attack. Then a friend at the gym who is 80 had the heart calcium score test and has shocked with his results with a score in the 400s and he is fit and been otherwise healthy. S0 I have a history of heart disease with dearly departed Mom and Dad and decided time to find a cardiologist for a "check up". I told him I felt great with no complaints but wanted to get his advice about some of these tests. I am fit, eat a good diet, don't smoke or drink, my BP is under control, and my last cholesterol test results were great. Only medication I take is generic flomax. I have been strength training 3 times a week for 2 1/2 years rotating between upper and lower body/core workout that my trainer, who moved on and I no longer use one setup for me.

My cardiologist checked listened to my heart, took my BP, did an EKG, and asked me a bunch of questions and then he agreed the heart calcium score test would be a good idea along with an ultrasound screening test they do for $99 to check abdomen and arteries in the neck. So a week later I took the "CAC" test which is a CT Scan for $49. A short time later I get a text saying new test results were available for me on my healthcare portal. I had not hear from the doctor but I logged on to read the radiologist report. My total calcium score was 272 but it showed that "There is aneurysm dilation of the ascending thoracic aorta measuring 4.3 cm." On top of that I also read the ultra sound report that showed I have a 3.1 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm. Holy cow. The rest of my ultra sound report was great showing minimal plaque in both neck arteries and good circulation in the legs.

Anyhow I was pretty shaken by the news. I messaged my doctors office right away expressing my concern and the nurse called me back later in the day. She said my cardiologist is on vacation and if I wanted I could see a different one right away or I could wait until the next Monday when he was back which is the option took. he assured me I did not need to stop exercising in the mean time as long as my blood pressure is well controlled which it is.

So I had office visit on Monday and my cardiologist assured me that it was not an emergency situation. The aneurysm in my abdomen is small and the one by my heart is moderate in size. He said I was already doing everything to minimize risk and I was in excellent shape. I asked him for more details on possible restrictions doing my strength training and he said that it is fine just don't do any really heavy lifting that causes me to strain hard, don't ever hold breath to do heavy weight/physical exercise, and don't go beyond moderate strain which means I will have to dial sets back avoiding to go to failure especially on compound exercises lifting lighter weights in higher rep ranges like 12-20 which is my norm anyway. He said I can continue to do chinups and push ups which I mentioned to him under that parameter by leaving a couple reps in reserve. That made me feel a lot better as I was concerned I would only be able to do really light strength training. Below is a picture of me from 2021 (where I look happier ) about a year before I started strength training and one from a few days ago. I feel so much better and stronger since I have been doing that and glad to hear I don't have to abandon it as that would totally devastate me. BTW I weigh about 15 pounds less now than I did back in 2021.

As far as the aneurysms he said they will have to be carefully monitored with imaging on a regular basis to see what happens as in are they growing and how fast. He said in other patients some have not grown in several years, others grow slowly, and some grow fast. If the one by my heart grows to 5.5 cm then they will want to do open heart surgery even if I am feeling great at that time. I am having an echocardiogram later this month and also a cardiac stress test on Dec 1st. So that is the plan as of now.

Am I sorry I took the CAC test? No as I feel it is better to know what the situation is no matter what and this could very well have prolonged my life. IMHO I think the CAC test is well worth it as it is widely available for not that much especially considering it uses a CT Scan machine and the radiologist will examine the other organs in view too. The $99 ultra sound screening also seems like a great investment to make too. Below I have a copy of my CAC radiologist report and score interpretation for anyone that might be interested in this test.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: grumpy1,

Good move grumpy. We would like to have you around here for a good long while. Half of my family tends to live from late 90’s to 100. The other half, not so much. Dad went at 53, I just outlived him this spring.

Take that shit seriously. I had one done after my oldest brother died of a heart attack. Thankfully I came out clean as a whistle.

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:
Good move grumpy. We would like to have you around here for a good long while. Half of my family tends to live from late 90’s to 100. The other half, not so much. Dad went at 53, I just outlived him this spring.

Thanks! Going to try hard.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Take that shit seriously. I had one done after my oldest brother died of a heart attack. Thankfully I came out clean as a whistle.

So sorry to hear about your brother. Glad yours showed good to go.

Lets focus on the Calcium test NOT the aneurysm.
Calcium test is a SCREEN--it has predictive ability.
1) Family hx of heart disease
2) Calcium CT detects calcified plaques in the heart arteries, it does not detect non calcified plaques.
Your screening test is positive. You need to drill down on cholesterol numbers and further cardiac testing.
The aneurysms are the Red Herring--observation.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
Lets focus on the Calcium test NOT the aneurysm.
Calcium test is a SCREEN--it has predictive ability.
1) Family hx of heart disease
2) Calcium CT detects calcified plaques in the heart arteries, it does not detect non calcified plaques.
Your screening test is positive. You need to drill down on cholesterol numbers and further cardiac testing.
The aneurysms are the Red Herring--observation.

Yes and thanks, more testing to be done as I mentioned. My cardiologist was pleased with my recent years cholesterol results. My results from this year. Ultra sound of the two neck arteries showed minimal plaque.

Glad you had yours done.
I recently had mine done and scored a 665 and a trip to the cardiologist.
On meds now. Had a full heart work up including stress test with no issues yet.

Glad you asked for the tests, had the tests, and got back in with the cardiologist.

In 2023, I took Sigforum's recommendation and asked my cardiologist for a calcium score test too. I don't have any deformities or aneurysms but my score was over 400 so focus is on preventing deposits from turning into future blockages. I can no longer take statins (i.e. tried to shutdown my liver and hospitalized 3 days) so I'm on the expensive Repatha injectable, take a baby aspirin, and I've dropped 45 lbs in the last 16 months. Cardiologist wants me to have another stress test in 2026 which I will gladly do.

Tip of the iceberg has been identified.
Here's a deeper dive into cholesterol.
https://www.knowyourrisk.com/

Pay attention Mike!

Just keep a close watch on the aneurisms. I have had an aortic aneurism for the last 7-8 years, but I keeps things in control, and it isn't growing....so far. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by mr.sig239:
Glad you had yours done.
I recently had mine done and scored a 665 and a trip to the cardiologist.
On meds now. Had a full heart work up including stress test with no issues yet.

Glad to hear your on meds and so far so good!

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Glad you asked for the tests, had the tests, and got back in with the cardiologist.

In 2023, I took Sigforum's recommendation and asked my cardiologist for a calcium score test too. I don't have any deformities or aneurysms but my score was over 400 so focus is on preventing deposits from turning into future blockages. I can no longer take statins (i.e. tried to shutdown my liver and hospitalized 3 days) so I'm on the expensive Repatha injectable, take a baby aspirin, and I've dropped 45 lbs in the last 16 months. Cardiologist wants me to have another stress test in 2026 which I will gladly do.

Congrats on the weight loss, that is awesome and I bet you have noticed many improvements in yourself doing such and will go a long way to improve your cardiac situation.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
Tip of the iceberg has been identified.
Here's a deeper dive into cholesterol.
https://www.knowyourrisk.com/

Pay attention Mike!

Chronic inflammation is a real health killer. I take a few supplements to help with that with fish oil being the number one getting 750 mg daily of both EPA and DHA. I also eat a tin of King Oscar mackeral filets a couple times a week to for even more. Of course a healthy diet that includes minimal refined sugars is important too.

quote:

Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
Just keep a close watch on the aneurisms. I have had an aortic aneurism for the last 7-8 years, but I keeps things in control, and it isn't growing....so far. Good luck.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me know that! I hope I have similar results too.