ct angiogram

[heartbroken1965]

Hi, I had a ct angiogram Dec 21 and my calcium score is 694. My cholesterol is 242. My doctor put me on crestor 10 mg per day. I just got the hard copy report today and my dr. is away for the holidays.... what does that score mean? I have chest pain frequently but they thought it was all in my head.... thank you

[Avery618]

It was a CTA. It showed 0 stenosis in any of the arteries, including the one that was stented. It also showed a 0 calcium score.  Just wanted to emphasize again that it was a coronary CT Angiogram.

[Occupant]

That's what I was trying to say before: CT-A will identify "soft" as well as "hard" plaque. If you indeed had a CT-A they should not have given you just a Calcium Score. However, a regular CT-Scan will give you only a Calcium Score because no contrast medium is being used. It is basically an X-Ray and can only see the Calcium. Your 80% blockage was entirely caused by "soft" plaque, not being identifiable by a CT-SCan.

[Avery618]

I had a CTA 2 years ago with totally clear arteries and a calcium score of 0.  As in zero. I just had a stent put in due to an 80% blockage. I'm not sure I'll ever believe in anything but a cardiac cath.

[curmudgen]

Correlates to the amount of plaque deposit in the arteries....get more information from your doctor on what it means for you!

Calcium Score for a 55-Year-Old
Man or Woman
Relative Amount of Plaque
0–10 Minimal
11–100 Moderate
101–400 Increased
401+ Extensive

[Occupant]

I made a mistake. I only read "CT" and not "CTA". If that's the case you should also know the degree of blockage you have.

[Occupant]

Don't worry, you're not alone. My Calcium Score is 1242 and I still don't know what it means, however, I don't have any chest pains. You should get an Echocardiogram and a Nuclear Stress test.