{"product_id":"paul-d-thompson-coronary-calcium-athletes-27","title":"Coronary calcium in athletes: what to do 27","description":"\u003ch1\u003eHigh Coronary Calcium in Endurance Athletes: Treatment and Continued Exercise\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eJump To Section\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#not-benign\"\u003eWhy high calcium is not benign\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#lipid-lowering\"\u003eTreatment as for known coronary disease\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#keep-exercising\"\u003eExercise without a false sense of protection\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#full-transcript\"\u003eFull Transcript\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"not-benign\"\u003eWhy high calcium is not benign\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHigh coronary calcium in endurance athletes is not benign, Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD, tells Dr. Anton Titov, MD. It was initially thought to be just calcification, he explains, but soft plaque is also present. Calcified plaque is thought to be pretty safe, while uncalcified or partially calcified plaque can rupture and lead to a heart attack and sudden cardiac death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"lipid-lowering\"\u003eTreatment as for known coronary disease\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAggressive lipid reduction is the treatment Dr. Thompson recommends, just as for anyone with known coronary disease. In his view, these athletes face the same heart attacks, bypass surgery and angioplasty as patients who do not exercise. He adds that athletes live longer for their coronary calcification, as he puts it, so being an athlete is a good thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"keep-exercising\"\u003eExercise without a false sense of protection\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStopping exercise is not necessary, Dr. Thompson says, but athletes should pay attention to themselves and drop the idea that exercise is a protective bulletproof vest. Athletes with high coronary calcification can have heart attacks, strokes and other problems, and he says they need aggressive treatment to bring their cholesterol down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"full-transcript\"\u003eFull Transcript\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Anton Titov, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e Coronary calcium in athletes, high coronary calcium in a very active person. In an editorial you asked whether coronary calcium means the same in active and sedentary people. On your blog you wrote that high coronary calcium in a very active person is not benign. You chaired the national task force on coronary artery disease in competitive athletes. Professor Thompson, how should an athlete with a high coronary calcium score be treated? Should the athlete keep training and competing?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Paul D. Thompson, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e High levels of coronary calcification in endurance athletes are not benign. Initially, we thought it was just calcification, but now we know it is not just coronary calcification. There is also soft plaque there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Paul D. Thompson, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e Calcified plaque is thought to be pretty safe, but uncalcified or partially calcified plaque can rupture and lead to a heart attack and sudden cardiac death. So how should these patients be treated? They should be treated with aggressive lipid reduction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Paul D. Thompson, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e They are just like regular patients. They should be treated with aggressive lipid reduction, just like you would treat anyone who has known coronary disease, because we know that the presence of coronary calcification, even in endurance athletes, is not benign. They need to get it down, because they have the same problem with suffering heart attacks and bypass surgery and needing angioplasty as regular patients who are not exercisers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Paul D. Thompson, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e Now, the good news is the athletes live longer for their coronary calcification. So it is not a terrible thing being an athlete. It is a good thing, but they do suffer the same sort of consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Paul D. Thompson, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e Should they stop exercising? No, but they should pay attention to themselves. They should forget the idea, get rid of the idea, that their exercise is some sort of a protective bulletproof vest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Paul D. Thompson, MD:\u003c\/strong\u003e It is not. Athletes with high levels of coronary calcification can get heart attacks, strokes; they can get other things. They need to be treated aggressively to get their cholesterol level down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Diagnostic Detectives Network","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48388744052892,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/5449\/5644\/files\/2225161529-efd0b9c48a84a72cbc0a91c136d8ff9eb1f3f2671a2051f07b50449cfe0019c8-d_1920x1080_ececa960-7928-4169-953f-384c806bb04f.jpg?v=1794435503","url":"https:\/\/diagnosticdetectives.com\/products\/paul-d-thompson-coronary-calcium-athletes-27","provider":"DiagnosticDetectives.Com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}