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Quote:

Originally Posted by khrussva

2) If your CAC scan results in a positive score -- especially 100 or more -- there is only one course of action: AGGRESSIVE STATIN TREATMENT. PERIOD. This was the troubling takeaway for me since I have a CAC score > 100. What bothered me most was that there was no talk of root causes, diet or lifestyle changes. The consensus in the room, for the speaker, and even from Dr. Agatston himself (from another video I saw on Fat Emporer) is that the first course of treatment for a high CAC is and should always be statin therapy. They see it as cheap, safe, and effective - with minimal side effects. Statin prescriptions are automatic, practically mandatory. I don't see it that way. I'm choosing to stick with a healthy diet & lifestyle in the hope that I have addressed the root causes of my disease. From what I have learned I believe that statin benefits are overrated and the side effects more serious than what is portrayed.

In that interview doctor Agatston - the author of the CAC scoring method and the South Beach Diet - said that in all his years of doing CAC scans he has not seen calcium score regression. Slowing or achieving lack of progression is the goal and this is done with statins, diet and lifestyle changes. Since statins are known to increase calcification, I'm wonder if the reason he has never seen regression is the fact that statins are his first course of treatment. I want to believe that if the root causes have been addressed, then there is no benefit from a statin -- just like those who have a zero CAC score. I'm definitely going against the grain on this, but I make my own choices and I must live with the results.

I put the last couple sentences in bold to emphasize this important point that Agatston may have overlooked due to him being convinced that the CAC score cannot be reversed. Also, in addition to statins, blood thinners like warfarin and some of the newer ones can increase calcium deposits in arteries. There are other medications, supplements, and poor eating habits that can do this as well.

Ken makes an excellent point, and this is where I've arrived: If you make the correct lifestyle changes to slow or even reverse atherosclerosis along with experiencing other health improvements, why add a medication (statin)? The unkown, despite claims to the contrary, is how much additional damage results in following a protocol for which the overall health impact is not entirely consensus driven despite its popularity. The primary issue is that statins are used to lower harmful blood lipids (cholesterol, LDL), and these very lipids are now suspected of not even being valid CVD/CHD health markers. Those who follow very low carb and keto have a very different lipid profile. So, no, I don't think it's going against the grain; rather, I think it's a very informed, rational approach after weighing all of the known findings, variables, and possible choices.

I look forward to further Kendrick/ Cummins discussions to further illuminate this important topic.