CT question

[csutherland]

Jerry picked up his copy of the CT results regarding his aneurysm yesterday. There is one sentence that has him kind of spooked (unusual for him).

Right after saying the aortic aneurysm is "essentially stable", it states "There is calcification of the coronary arteries." Does anyone know if this is significant? The PCP didn't say anything about it; I guess he was just scanning it for the aneurysm measurments.

What say ye?

 

[PJmomrunner]

I don't know much, but I'll share what I do know. Basically, calcium in the coronary arteries is a marker for atherosclerosis (CAD). Usually when they scan the heart for calcium they assign a calcification score. I believe a certain amount of calcium is expected at a given age and if you have more than what's expected you are at higher risk for a cardiac event. People with low scores are at lower risk than people with higher scores, who generally have more obstructive disease. Exercise and dietary changes, along with medical therapies (think statins and the like) are usually recommended to slow, arrest or even reverse the disease process.

I'm sure you can find lots online, but maybe you/he should call the cardiologist and find out what his score is and what's recommended--maybe it's a small amount that's normal for his age and the card didn't mention it because he wasn't concerned.

 

[Susan BAV]

Hi Celia -

Was he bicuspid? I see he had a bypass; was there any calicification noted then? Has he had an angiogram before, or recently? Surely his cardio will have a recommendation for him regarding the information. Hope the news is better than it might appear!

I lived near the Lake of the Ozarks for a time. Beautiful there! Take care!

 

[csutherland]

He's not bicuspid; don't know about any calcium at time of AVR/bypass. The only angiogram he's had was the day before that surgery. His cardio isn't involved in the aneurysm. He acted like that wasn't his job, referred him to a surgeon and we haven't talked to him since. (2 yrs). We ultimately saw a surgeon in St Louis who specializes in aortas and he asks that Jerry's PCP here schedule a CT locally periodically. PCP did put him on a statin a yr ago due to elevated cholesterol. He needs to look for a different cardio; we're just not overly impressed with this one.