Calcium scan concerns
Ask the doctorI'm a 70-year-old man with no signs of any heart problems, and my blood pressure is low (110/70). I recently had a coronary artery calcium scan and received a score of 480. According to
Ask the doctor
I'm a 70-year-old man with no signs of any heart problems, and my blood pressure is low (110/70). I recently had a coronary artery calcium scan and received a score of 480. According to my cardiologist, that means I have a lot of plaque in my heart arteries. He increased the dose of my statin and recommended an echocardiogram stress test. The results showed no underlying heart issues, but I'm still concerned. How accurate are calcium scans?A score of 480 is indeed quite high, but the fact that your subsequent echo stress test did not uncover symptoms or evidence of any blood flow restriction to your heart muscle is good news. Your well-controlled blood pressure also bodes well for you. Increasing your statin dose is likely a good idea.