Submitted by Dr T on May 3, 2014 – 8:52am
Question:
Hello im a 38 male history – i quit smoking 1 pack a day in dec 2007 i have sinus tachacardia and currently take 100 mg atenolol 1x a day- i have had 2 episodes of lone afib exactly a year apart i was able to be convertied back with medication. i have had ekg echo and stress test for chest pain, then i went for a cardiac ct with a new 320 slice ct machine . i was told the results were great all arteries were clear except 1 had a 20- 25% blockage – and that there is nothing to worry about, no new meds to take just to take 1 asprin a day which i have been doing. should i worry? is this % something to worry about ? can minor CAD be reverseible or stopped?
Hi Matt,
A minor blockage such as yours is not serious now, but indicates a potential severe future problem with atherosclerosis causing more severe coronary artery disease. You probably have a number of cardiac risk factors that hopefully, you may be able to control with a heart healthy life style and medications such as statins. Despite what some reports suggest, atherosclerosis is very unlikely to reverse itself. I wrote about it here in 2009: Comments on the niacin ezitimibe study
Hope this helps,