This Is the #1 Sign of Coronary Calcification, According to Cardiologists

Emily Laurence
·5 min read
7

Doctor looking at heart treatment

If you could prevent yourself from having a heart attack, would you do it? It sounds like a no-brainer, but the signs of being at an increased risk of becoming one of the 805,000 people a year in the U.S. who have a heart attack aren't always clear.

One of the risk factors for experiencing a heart attack or getting heart disease is coronary artery calcification. Coronary calcification is a buildup of calcium that occurs in the arteries. When this happens, blood isn’t able to flow through the blood vessels as easily. When blood flow is blocked, it can lead to a heart attack. 

How do you know if you have coronary calcification? Keep reading to find out.

Related: Want To Improve Your Heart Health Quickly? Here's How, According to Doctors

The #1 Sign of Coronary Calcification

Here’s what’s tricky about coronary calcification: it’s tough to catch early. “Early coronary calcification does not cause symptoms,” says Dr. Alexander Postalian, MD, FSCAI, a cardiologist at The Texas Heart Institute. But once it progresses and the vessel starts becoming blocked, Dr. Postalian says that is when warning bells start going off.

When this happens, he says it’s common to experience chest pain during physical activity, which then goes away when you stop exercising.

Other Signs of Coronary Calcification

Dr. Postalian adds that shortness of breath is another symptom to be aware of.

He also explains that there are additional signs of coronary calcification that occur in women specifically, saying, “Women in particular can experience what we call ‘atypical’ symptoms, which include nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain."

Related: 25 Foods That Are Good for Your Heart, from Fruits and Veggies to Heart-Healthy Nuts and Seeds

Early Detection

Dr. Rohit Vuppuluri, DO, FACC, RPVI, a vascular cardiologist in Chicago, Illinois, says that one way to know how much coronary calcification you have is by getting a coronary calcium scan. “A coronary calcium scan is a CT scan that quantifies the amount of calcium in the coronary arteries,” Dr. Vuppuluri says. He adds that a regular CT scan of the chest may also pick up coronary calcifications, but the drawback is that it doesn’t show how much calcium there is.

“[A coronary calcium scan] is a low-dose, low-cost, CT scan of the chest that allows us to quantify the amount of calcium in the arteries that feed the heart muscle,” Dr. Postalian says, echoing Dr. Vuppuluri as to why they are beneficial.

Dr. Vuppuluri emphasizes that early detection of coronary calcification is important because it’s an indicator of how much plaque buildup there is in the coronary arteries. He explains that it’s a strong sign of “soft plaque,” which is made of fat and connective tissue. Soft plaque is the most dangerous type of plaque because it can rupture suddenly, leading to blood clots and, in turn, a heart attack.

If you know you have coronary calcification from the results of a coronary calcium scan or you’re experiencing the symptoms of it, next comes the big question: What can you do to stop it from getting worse?

Related: Make These 7 Lifestyle Changes for a Healthier Heart

What To Do if You Have Coronary Calcification

Since early detection of coronary calcification is critical, it’s important to see a healthcare provider (ideally a preventive cardiologist or cardiologist) if you are experiencing any of its symptoms. “Early detection of coronary calcification will provide the physician an opportunity to prescribe medications at an earlier stage to decrease calcifications,” Dr. Vuppuluri explains.

He says that recognizing the buildup of plaque in the arteries early allows the opportunity for intervention with changes to one’s diet and lifestyle (and medications, when needed), which decreases the risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death.

Dr. Postalian emphasizes that if the signs of coronary calcification are ignored, eventually, a heart attack can occur. “It is commonly experienced as crushing chest pain that is constant. If the heart attack is large and rapid medical attention is not provided, it can be fatal,” he says.

If coronary calcification is identified, Dr. Postalian says the main focus is stopping any more buildup from happening. This, he says, is done in a few different ways. One is to consider medication, specifically statins, which help lower LDL cholesterol.

Then, comes changes to one’s diet and lifestyle. “If you smoke, stop. This is the most important thing you can do beyond any medication or procedure,” Dr. Postalian says.
Next comes following a heart-healthy diet. Both doctors say that this means minimizing simple carbohydrates (such as sweets, soft drinks, bread, pasta, white potatoes and tortillas) and saturated fats (found in butter, fatty cuts of meat and cheese), trans fats (found in ultra-processed baked goods, frozen pizza, microwave popcorn and fried foods) and sodium.

One diet that has been repeatedly scientifically proven to benefit heart health is the Mediterranean diet. This way of eating prioritizes vegetables, fruit, whole grains and fish while minimizing all of the foods Dr. Postalian pointed out that it can be detrimental to heart health.

Last but certainly not least, it’s important to stay physically active. The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise a week.

There’s a good chance that you’ve heard a lot of this advice before—even if it was about staying healthy in other ways, such as keeping your brain healthy or increasing longevity. This is because healthy diet and lifestyle habits benefit the entire body. That means when you put habits into place that are good for your heart, your whole body will reap the benefits. There’s no downside to putting the healthy living tips highlighted here into action!

Next up, this is the number one sign of a healthy heart, according to cardiologists.

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