Well here is my carnivore experiment

[thx1138]

Hi TinCup I got my CAC scan back finally its 332.39 (5 years ago its was 112) it said 93% of the people in my age group have lower scores so I am freaking out a bit looking for my approach I just found the track your plaque site but not much of a plan to follow that can see so it seems I am marching to a heart attack trying not to freak out (:

[NF52]

Hi TinCup I got my CAC scan back finally its 332.39 (5 years ago its was 112) it said 93% of the people in my age group have lower scores so I am freaking out a bit looking for my approach I just found the track your plaque site but not much of a plan to follow that can see so it seems I am marching to a heart attack trying not to freak out (:

Hi again Pat!

Doesn't it feel like 2020 decided to freak out all of us in one or more ways this year? Since we have to look for good news when it seems all bad, you had good news in the past on your Lp(a)score of 14, so you can probably rule out a risk of aortic stenosis.

But here's what I think is better news: You don't have to figure this out on your own, and you don't have to rely on your "regular guy" doctor. I'm hoping you have insurance (and if you don't the ACA Marketplace opened!
https://www.healthcare.gov/

My sincere hope is that you ask your doctor for the name of a respected cardiologist or look in your area for a group practice of cardiologists. (My experience, which stretches back to a son identified with life-threatening congenital heart disease at birth almost 40 years ago, is that good docs work together and keep each other up on the very latest developments.)

A much more recent experience with a relative with equivocal symptoms and ECG, taught me that cardiologists ask smart questions. They also can read ECGs better than hospital radiologists and with a few painless tests like an echocardiogram and an NMR stress test (walking on a treadmill with a small amount of radioactive dye to look for blockages), can tell you WAY more about whether to freak out about that 339 score. All for about $40. in co-pays, in my experience.

Think of yourself as the detective who has spent five years uncovering clues about what works and doesn't with your gene profile. Now give yourself permission to hold off on more decisions until you bring in the people who can do what you can't--tell you where that blockage is and how to think about next steps. As the cardiologist I recently spoke to said "we don't force people to take any test or medication; we talk about options and what might explain what we see."

At 50, you owe it to yourself to find out answers to your concerns. P.S. I'll also copy Tincup in on this so he sees your question.

[Tincup]

Hi TinCup I got my CAC scan back finally its 332.39 (5 years ago its was 112) it said 93% of the people in my age group have lower scores so I am freaking out a bit looking for my approach I just found the track your plaque site but not much of a plan to follow that can see so it seems I am marching to a heart attack trying not to freak out (:

Hi.

First, I haven't gone back and reread your previous posts. With that in mind, here are my thoughts.

(332.39/112)^(1/5)= 1.243 or 24.3% increase per year. This is the low end of the expected change. I assume these numbers are Agatston scores not volume? If you are taking a statin, statins will increase CAC score (not necessarily a bad thing, the thought is that they are converting soft plaque to hard, which is inert and not likely to cause an issue). From the Raggi 2004 paper, your target should be 15%/year volume increase or less. Figures 2 & 3 tell the story. The idea is that while calcification is inert and not the problem, growth in volume beyond 15% a year is associated with increased soft plaque, which is the problem.

In the low carb/carnivore world, the idea is it is only hyperinsulinemia leading to calcification. Ben Greenfield recently underwent an extensive cardiac evaluationand he had a CAC score of 19 (or something like that). Ben is 38 and is as lean, fit and insulin sensitive as they come. He's also ApoE3/4. Having any calcium at 38 puts him in the 95% or something like that category. In Ben's case, it may have been excessive exercise that was the root cause. They mention a study out of the Cooper Clinic that those with excessive endurance exercise have more calcium, but it doesn't shorten their lives.

One of my friends had either an 18% reversal or flat (depending how you interpret the error bars around scanner scores) following a very low carb (<20%) diet (me, as an E3/4, I limit sat fat, with an emphasis on monos and more non-starch carb, while maintaining mild ketosis) and using 2/day of Pat Theut's product as well as Pat's general approach (I take 1/day of these). With his high dose K2, he consumes a swig of EVOO per this paper.

In addition to Track your Plaque, there is a FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/cacgranik on the topic.

Per NF52's suggestion for consultation, you might consider Arthur Agatston. Ivor Cummins interviewed him in 2 parts. 1 2 Agatston has a center here. I understand he does remote consults.

{edit} Personally I focus on keeping my blood pressure very low with non pharma approaches. lf you play around with the AstroCharm CVD risk calculator, you'll notice that blood pressure is a big driver of risk.

[thx1138]

Thanks I did just buy that K I have also been looking at Patrick and Ivor Cummings videos and William Davis there seems to be a them, low carb, High Fish Oil, Vitamin K, Iodine, Vitamin D, I have Vitamin D genes that say I don't absorb it well (currently 48 in July) so I am spending my money on a Sperti Vitamin D lamp (Ivor uses this as well) I have read where supplementation may not be as good and I wonder with my genes that is even more true so I don't want to mess with that and want to also synthesis with UVB, I am not quite sold on lower amounts of protein but have switched to shrimp, Bison Steaks and Tempeh and I take EAA's and still strive for once a day which are very low in saturated fats and the rest of my plate is greens and plant fats like avacado, walnuts and olives I am trying to eat whole fats and less oil, the biggie for me is exercise which will help with everything and lose my remaining 20 pounds oh and I also added high dose hawthorne 1200mg a day which I hope can lower blood pressure as I agree is a major factor it always goes from normal to stage 1 thanks everyone This group has been great as always if I am missing anything please let me know and I plan to do a stress test and yes finding someone good is the challenge but I will look, I have a blood work panel ready to go but I want to wait a bit after changes to compare how long do you think it would take 1 month 2 months more to see better bloodwork from my changes?

[thx1138]

tincup: funny yes I heard patrick say he takes his supplements with some fat and swigs milk (: I would much rather do your approach as I dont do well with Milk and its seems we have research (: