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"&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;\u00A0&amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Q. Two years ago my doctor put me on 80 mg of atorvastatin because my cholesterol was up, and my cardiac calcium scan showed a score of 200. Since then my cholesterol has gone down nicely - but when we repeated a calcium scan last week my calcium score was up to 290! If the statin is working, why is my calcium score going up so much? Is my coronary artery disease getting worse?&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A. The tendency of the coronary artery calcium score to increase with statin therapy has been an area of controversy and concern among cardiologists. However, the best evidence now suggests that, as paradoxical as it may sound, this may be a good thing. It may indicate that the statins are stabilizing coronary artery plaques.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/coronary-artery-calcium-scans-1745753&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Read about calcium scans and the calcium score.&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Some Background Is In Order.&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-atherosclerosis-1745908&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Atherosclerosis&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; produces &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-atherosclerosis-1745908&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;plaques&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; in the walls of arteries, including the coronary arteries. These plaques can grow large enough to partially obstruct the artery and produce symptoms, such as &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/stable-angina-1745941&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;angina&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; or &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/peripheral-artery-disease-1746093&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;claudication&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. However, the real problem with these plaques is that they can suddenly rupture, causing a sudden occlusion of the artery - which often leads to a &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/recognizing-the-signs-of-a-heart-attack-1746023&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;heart attack&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, or a &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-stroke-3146478&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;stroke&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Plaques are deposits of several materials, including lipids, inflammatory cells, fibrotic cells, and calcium. It is the calcium in atherosclerotic plaques that is detected by a cardiac calcium scan - the higher the calcium score, the more extensive is the atherosclerosis. So, when your doctor started you on atorvastatin, he or she was not merely treating your cholesterol levels, but was also treating your atherosclerotic plaques.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Statins And The Calcium Score&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Several studies have now shown that treating a patient who has atherosclerosis with statins can &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;increase&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; the cardiac calcium score. Since statins are thought to help prevent and even to help reverse coronary artery disease, this result seems paradoxical. In 2015, a study was published in the &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Journal of the American College of Cardiology&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; which helps to clarify what this increase in calcium means.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/the-statin-drugs-1745269&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;8&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Read about the statins.&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Investigators reviewed eight separate studies which had used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS, a catheter technique) to assess the size and composition of atherosclerotic plaques in patients treated with statins. They found two things. First, high-dose statin therapy tended to shrink plaques. Second, while the plaques were shrinking, their composition was changing. After statin therapy, the volume of lipid deposits within plaques diminished, and the volume of fibrotic cells and calcium increased. These changes - converting an unstable \u201Csoft\u201D plaque to a more stable \u201Chard\u201D plaque - may render a plaque less prone to sudden rupture. (This postulate is consistent with the fact that statin therapy significantly reduces the risk of heart attacks in patients with coronary artery disease.)&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In summary, current evidence supports the idea that statin therapy not only reduces cholesterol levels, but also changes existing plaques to make them less dangerous. As part of this process, the plaques may become more calcified - and thus, calcium score goes up. An increasing calcium score with statin therapy, therefore, may indicate treatment success, and should not be a cause for alarm.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;While this theory is not settled science, at this point it best fits the available evidence.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;The Bottom Line&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A cardiac calcium scan can be a useful tool in assessing the presence or absence of coronary artery disease. If calcium is present, atherosclerosis is present - and aggressive lifestyle changes are in order. In addition, strong consideration should be given to statin therapy and prophylactic aspirin.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/dealing-with-high-heart-disease-risk-1745374&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;9&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Read about reducing your cardiac risk.&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;But, once statin therapy has begun, interpreting subsequent calcium scans becomes a problem. If the calcium score goes up, it may not indicate worsening CAD, but rather, is likely to be a positive effect of statin treatment.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;As a general rule, doctors should not order tests that they know ahead of time they probably will not be able to interpret. While a screening calcium scan makes a lot of sense for people who are at some risk for coronary artery disease, repeating those calcium scans after statin therapy has been initiated may just create anxiety, without adding any useful information.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Sources:&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Puri R, Nicholls SJ, Shao M, et al. Impact of statins on serial coronary calcification during atheroma progression and regression.\u00A0J Am Coll Cardiol\u00A02015; 65:1273-1282.&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Shaw LJ, Narula J, Chandrashekhar Y. The never-ending story on coronary calcium.\u00A0J Am Coll Cardiol\u00A02015; 65:1273-1282\u00A0&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.verywell.com/statins-and-your-calcium-scores-1746355>