High CAC score
I have a 60 year male friend who recently underwent CAC testing (of his own volition after listening to The Drive) and has a score of 2227; his father had a heart attack at age 48 and CABGx4 at 54, but was also a smoker, drinker, obese and had type II DM. My friend has mostly lived a healthy lifestyle but in his younger days drank too much and probably did illegal substances; he also played football for short while at a CA university in LA. He now abstains from EtOH; he is in good physical shape, lean, and trains like a bodybuilder (has is own gym in his office and follows a training program from a paid on-line trainer who develops workouts and diets for him) - frequent intense weight lifting, low amounts of cardio, low carb, high veggie diet, and hasn't historically restricted red meat but mostly ate chicken, turkey and fish. His LDL recently clocked in at 150 and he has been started on Crestor. BP was 133/77 recently. Over the past 6 months he has been getting episodes of lightheadness lasting 10-15 sec. while lifting. My question is: do you have any thoughts on why his CAC score is so high? His cardiologist offered no explanation. Have you ever seen one this high in a healthy individual? Could it be related to genetics? Or is a high volume of high intensity resistance training a risk factor? Also, do you have any thoughts on next steps for a workup or for management strategies? Thanks for your consideration.
How to find a specialist in preventive cardiology.
I've listened to the discussions with James O'Keefe and Tom Dayspring, and come away with the impression that much of this vital information is not yet widely adopted in the field. I don't think I can navigate lipidology without expert help. How do I find docs in my vicinity (Philadelphia area) who are current with this knowledge?
Do Vitamin D supplements do any good?
There seems to be emerging evidence that Vitamin D supplementation fails to address any of the deficits associates with Vitamin D deficiency. Production of Vitamin D by sunlight produces many other metabolites such as Nitrous Oxide, which also is involved in immune system modulation. Vitamin D is very likely only a marker of sunlight deficiency, not the mechanism. We have installed a full body narrowband UV-B lamp and use a 1/2 Minimum Erythemic Dose (MED) treatment twice a week to maintain Vitamin D levels rather than rely on supplements. Some of the research: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(18)30265-1/fulltext#articleInformation https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6201