Mikie
Admin/iMTB Hooligan
If he was he did it on his own...
Rossage down!
- Thread starter rossage
- Start date
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
Currently, Ross doesn't ride so why in the heck would he want anything to do with us nimrods over here?
BonsaiNut
iMTB Rockstah
DangerDirtyD
iMTB Hooligan
He would have been top half on Strava today on the Brown/El Prieto lollipop if he Strava’d.
Poofighter
Member
buggravy
iMTB Addict
I heard from him the other day, and he's doing well. Back on the bike, as mentioned above. I think he may be taking a social media break, though we did not discuss that specifically
DangerDirtyD
iMTB Hooligan
He is taking a break from the iMTBt forum, but only because he's slower than he used to be, and he's super insecure about it.
@rossage
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
Redman
iMTB Rockstah
DangerDirtyD
iMTB Hooligan
Probably not.What are you his official spokesperson?
Tom the Bomb
iMTB Rockstah
Well Rossage's misfortune may have saved my life!
After seeing what he had gone through I decided to follow my own advice. Earlier on I had mentioned my wife had been dealing with a high cholesterol count. We have been working on her diet and she is doing well and the count is dropping fast. The doc strongly recommended she get a calcium score test . If it is low she is out of the woods. He also asked me if I wanted one too. Knowing my Cholesterol count is very good I declined. Well my little woman's test came back at 0! The best it could be! That was good news. Now I am wanting to get mine done so I can brag about mine too. A couple weeks later I get it done and wholly chit it is off the charts at 532! WTF! My diet is good and I exercise a ton! I see the cardiologist and surgeon and they tell me there was nothing I could do better. Genetics got the better of me. I am scheduled for an angiogram this Wed., to get some definitive answers. Doc says there is a possibility the calcium is outside the arteries. In that case he says nothing needs to be done. He is hoping as I that a stint is not needed. Interestingly another friend of mine who is very health conscious had shortness of breath while working out and ended up with a triple bypass! Docs told him the same thing. Genetics. Listen to the body my fat tired friends.
I will keep you posted.
TTB
After seeing what he had gone through I decided to follow my own advice. Earlier on I had mentioned my wife had been dealing with a high cholesterol count. We have been working on her diet and she is doing well and the count is dropping fast. The doc strongly recommended she get a calcium score test . If it is low she is out of the woods. He also asked me if I wanted one too. Knowing my Cholesterol count is very good I declined. Well my little woman's test came back at 0! The best it could be! That was good news. Now I am wanting to get mine done so I can brag about mine too. A couple weeks later I get it done and wholly chit it is off the charts at 532! WTF! My diet is good and I exercise a ton! I see the cardiologist and surgeon and they tell me there was nothing I could do better. Genetics got the better of me. I am scheduled for an angiogram this Wed., to get some definitive answers. Doc says there is a possibility the calcium is outside the arteries. In that case he says nothing needs to be done. He is hoping as I that a stint is not needed. Interestingly another friend of mine who is very health conscious had shortness of breath while working out and ended up with a triple bypass! Docs told him the same thing. Genetics. Listen to the body my fat tired friends.
I will keep you posted.
TTB
herzalot
iMTB Hooligan
Yikes! And so glad you had it tested. Best wishes for an awesome outcome!
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
Tom, wishing you the very best outcome.
scan
iMTB Rockstah
Good report TTB. Great things to be reminded of , as others have said on here before. We can't trust alone in our relative fitness when we may have genetic factors or even think we can eat whatever we want because we are active. My 2 cents. Great to see you posting TTB!
BonsaiNut
iMTB Rockstah
Mine is 562
(Or at least it was three years ago) Let me know how your angiogram goes! (One of the reasons why my cholesterol, which was hovering around 200-220 three years ago is now at 131) 
Faust29
Moderator
Wow, Tom... First off, I'm thankful that your wife is heading in the right direction. Secondly, I'm glad you had yours checked out. Third... My turn!
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
Many of us have reached the age where something like this has become all too real. I am way over due for a physical and blood lab tests but my doctor won't see me due to covid!
scan
iMTB Rockstah
Mine is 562.... @BonsaiNut what test is this and the units? Calcium?
BonsaiNut
iMTB Rockstah
Cardiac computed tomography (CT) for Calcium Scoring uses special x-ray equipment to produce pictures of the coronary arteries to determine the presence of plaque – an indicator for atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease (CAD).
It is basically a specialized x-ray of your heart with a focus on the arteries - and since calcium deposits in your arteries show up clearly in an x-ray, a specialist can "score" your five heart arteries for the presence of plaque. Call it an early warning sign or risk factor for coronary artery disease. In my case, a score above 400 indicated a "22.5% - 28.5% chance of a coronary event in the next ten years" all other things considered equal. However it doesn't take into account other risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, etc. In my case, 65% of the plaque was in a single artery, my right coronary artery, so it was definitely something my doctor wanted to keep an eye on...
However... the artery itself looked fine, my heart looked fine, and I'm not showing any other symptoms, and because I do a lot of cardio exercise without any heart pain or unusual shortness of breath, my doctor just wanted to nuke my blood cholesterol, and check again in a couple of years.
[EDIT] I just realized that I didn't answer your answer specifically - in terms of units. Even though you get a digital "score", the results themselves are qualitative, not quantitative. Each of the five arteries are judged based on the following scale:
1-10 minimal plaque
11-100 mild plaque
101-400 moderate plaque
400+ severe plaque
(based on the trained opinion of the MD who is evaluating the scan)
Then they add the five scores together to get a "total" which is what my 562 was. I would have felt better if my 562 was made up of 112 in each artery. But instead it was 367 in one artery, 142 in another, and almost nothing in the other 3
[/EDIT]
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scan
iMTB Rockstah
Cardiac computed tomography (CT) for Calcium Scoring uses special x-ray equipment to produce pictures of the coronary arteries to determine the presence of plaque – an indicator for atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease (CAD).
It is basically a specialized x-ray of your heart with a focus on the arteries - and since calcium deposits in your arteries show up clearly in an x-ray, a specialist can "score" your five heart arteries for the presence of plaque. Call it an early warning sign or risk factor for coronary artery disease. In my case, a score above 400 indicated a "22.5% - 28.5% chance of a coronary event in the next ten years" all other things considered equal. However it doesn't take into account other risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, etc. In my case, 65% of the plaque was in a single artery, my right coronary artery, so it was definitely something my doctor wanted to keep an eye on...
However... the artery itself looked fine, my heart looked fine, and I'm not showing any other symptoms, and because I do a lot of cardio exercise without any heart pain or unusual shortness of breath, my doctor just wanted to nuke my blood cholesterol, and check again in a couple of years.
[EDIT] I just realized that I didn't answer your answer specifically - in terms of units. Even though you get a digital "score", the results themselves are qualitative, not quantitative. Each of the five arteries are judged based on the following scale:
1-10 minimal plaque
11-100 mild plaque
101-400 moderate plaque
400+ severe plaque
(based on the trained opinion of the MD who is evaluating the scan)
Then they add the five scores together to get a "total" which is what my 562 was. I would have felt better if my 562 was made up of 112 in each artery. But instead it was 367 in one artery, 142 in another, and almost nothing in the other 3
Cardiac computed tomography (CT) for Calcium Scoring uses special x-ray equipment to produce pictures of the coronary arteries to determine the presence of plaque – an indicator for atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease (CAD).
It is basically a specialized x-ray of your heart with a focus on the arteries - and since calcium deposits in your arteries show up clearly in an x-ray, a specialist can "score" your five heart arteries for the presence of plaque. Call it an early warning sign or risk factor for coronary artery disease. In my case, a score above 400 indicated a "22.5% - 28.5% chance of a coronary event in the next ten years" all other things considered equal. However it doesn't take into account other risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, etc. In my case, 65% of the plaque was in a single artery, my right coronary artery, so it was definitely something my doctor wanted to keep an eye on...
However... the artery itself looked fine, my heart looked fine, and I'm not showing any other symptoms, and because I do a lot of cardio exercise without any heart pain or unusual shortness of breath, my doctor just wanted to nuke my blood cholesterol, and check again in a couple of years.
[EDIT] I just realized that I didn't answer your answer specifically - in terms of units. Even though you get a digital "score", the results themselves are qualitative, not quantitative. Each of the five arteries are judged based on the following scale:
1-10 minimal plaque
11-100 mild plaque
101-400 moderate plaque
400+ severe plaque
(based on the trained opinion of the MD who is evaluating the scan)
Then they add the five scores together to get a "total" which is what my 562 was. I would have felt better if my 562 was made up of 112 in each artery. But instead it was 367 in one artery, 142 in another, and almost nothing in the other 3
I've read that this test is not covered by insurance. Was that true in your case? Sounds like a great non invasive test to give some good data to assess a person's risk!
BonsaiNut
iMTB Rockstah
No it was not covered by insurance, but the procedure is so inexpensive I was able to have it done out-of-pocket for $20.
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bvader
iMTB Rockstah
@BonsaiNut
Thanks for sharing, have had a few friends on me about this... Is that the same as this?
https://www.ocheartinstitute.com/services/ebct-heart-scan
Was thinking to get done... you know... for the family
Thanks for sharing, have had a few friends on me about this... Is that the same as this?
https://www.ocheartinstitute.com/services/ebct-heart-scan
Was thinking to get done... you know... for the family
BonsaiNut
iMTB Rockstah
Yes it is the same thing. It takes almost no time and is painless, non-invasive, etc.
Note that (1) I am not a doctor and (2) these tests simply indicate a risk factor that may indicate additional screening needed, or other course of action as recommended by your doctor. My doctor emphasized that just because you get a low score doesn't mean that you can't have a heart attack, or just because you have a high score doesn't mean you can't live to be 110 and never have a problem. But I personally have found that more information is better than having none. In my case it led to a change in my cholesterol meds which got my total cholesterol down to 131... which makes me extremely happy!
bvader
iMTB Rockstah
Thanks understood..
Generally I like more information to operate with.
Appreciate it it's just odd how one of those things when you hear it from from three different sources gets you thinking
Tom the Bomb
iMTB Rockstah
@scan i got it done at San Antonio reg. Hosp for 100.00.
@BonsaiNut where did you get yours done?
QUOTE="BonsaiNut, post: 240396, member: 271"]No it was not covered by insurance, but the procedure is so inexpensive I was able to have it done out-of-pocket for $20.[/QUOTE]
@BonsaiNut where did you get yours done?
QUOTE="BonsaiNut, post: 240396, member: 271"]No it was not covered by insurance, but the procedure is so inexpensive I was able to have it done out-of-pocket for $20.[/QUOTE]