“One of the drawbacks of the coronary artery calcium score is it detects calcified plaque; it doesn’t detect soft plaque. A lot of people, especially women, die from soft plaque eruption ...

The calcium I did have was hard, stable and mostly adhered to the artery walls, not the soft plaque that can rupture and cause a sudden, catastrophic event. But the volume reading was right.

Critics say a new, broader definition of high-risk plaque opens the door to more tests, diagnoses, and invasive procedures, steering us down a potentially harmful path.

Should you take a calcium supplement? And if so, how much? Here's what to know about calcium's benefits and some warnings.

Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque — a combination of cholesterol, fat, calcium, and blood elements — on and inside the walls of your arteries. Your arteries are the blood vessels that ...

The higher the score, the more calcium in the arteries, thus a greater likelihood ... “It only gauges current calcium, and it cannot identify soft plaque that’s not solidified,” he noted.

High levels of bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, can increase the chances you're going to develop blockages in your arteries and plaque will form inside of your arteries, very similar to the ...

which leads to the harmful artery plaques measured by the CAC score. Statins, which are underutilized, may be especially important for women because postmenopausal women have more “soft plaque ...

Fast forward to last year, my doctor had me do a scan to check for arterial plaque because my total cholesterol went over 300 mmol/L. I had declined her recommendation to take prescription ...

Consult a doctor or dietitian before taking calcium supplements, as excessive doses, particularly at once, might be linked to plaque ... of “soft and mushy” plaques present in the arteries.