![]() The plaque deposits also can cause a blood clot which may trigger a heart attack. The innermost layer of the artery becomes calcified, and this can be detected by CT scan in the same way that X-rays look through your skin and show your bones.Ī buildup of plaque can clog your arteries, which will slow your blood flow and prevent certain areas of your heart from receiving proper levels of oxygen. However, because plaque is a mixture of fat and calcium, over time the calcium begins to leave traces, or deposits, inside the artery. The amount of CAC is a measure of coronary artery plaque, a waxy substance that doesn't directly show up in a CT scan. Good question! Calcium in your bones and the food you eat is a good thing, yes. Here's what you need to know about this test, whether you need one and what the results might mean. But not everyone needs one and not everyone who could benefit from one knows about it. In contrast, people with high CAC scores have an elevated risk of ASCVD, even if they've never had any symptoms of heart disease and appear to be the picture of health.Ī calcium test may be the most accurate predictor, or biomarker, of ASCVD risk to date - at least of the safe, noninvasive and relatively inexpensive variety. People with no coronary artery calcium - even those with risk factors like diabetes, obesity or advanced age - have low absolute risk of ASCVD events, or the lowest among individuals with similar characteristics. Your calcium score can range from zero to infinity and is proportional with your risk of having such an event up to 15 years. The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score measures the amount of calcified plaque you have in those arteries, which is important because coronary plaque is the main underlying cause of - or precursor to - atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events such as heart attacks and strokes. But there's another number that might be even more important for assessing your risk of heart attack or stroke. Anyone else choosing to share their grief with the community takes the heavy lifting off of my shoulders and makes me responsible for sitting long enough to embrace the reality of what I’m feeling.You probably know your height and weight and may even have your typical blood pressure readings and most recent cholesterol scores memorized. I turn to social media as a safe haven because with Instagram and Facebook pages and groups that are dedicated to conversations around grief, like Option B, Modern Loss, or The Dinner Party, I don’t have to work to remember I’m not alone. Coining a word for myself, “grief days," to describe the bucket of days when the grief is just too heavy helps me at least have a starting point of knowing what kind of day I’m dealing with. Jacobs’ insight made me realize something my feelings of shame were eclipsing, holding on to what I do know about grief has made what I don’t know feel less overwhelming and more survivable. One day you might feel okay and then the next you’ll almost be knocked over by the experience-that’s absolutely normal." -Jordana Jacobs, PhDĭr. Predict the unpredictable when it comes to grief." "It's almost to expect that you don’t know what you’re going through. One day you might feel okay and then the next you’ll almost be knocked over by the experience-that’s absolutely normal," she says. Jacobs, I’m not the exception, I’m a part of a larger reality. My grief isn’t young, but it still feels new and fresh sometimes and that felt wrong.Īccording to Dr. This year I felt so embarrassed for again wanting to share with my community that I was having another grief day and that another big day without my mom was weighing on me. For instance, I’ve used Instagram as a journal for my grief since I was 21 years old when I lost my grandmother, who raised me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |