Somehow, I missed the link to the report and instead poured over the assorted images, data and gobbledegook.
And then, there it was staring me in the face. A three-digit number I thought would change my life.
“Calcium Scoring 209.”
The number that caused so much angst, because Cameron Atfield is so very much not a doctor.Credit: Screenshot
Well, that doesn’t sound too good, does it?
Of course, like any trained medical professional, my first consultation was with Dr Google, who helpfully informed me the score meant I had a “moderate to high risk” of heart disease, with a higher chance of a heart attack.
Goodo.
With my follow-up GP’s appointment two weeks away, I spent the fortnight with increasing anxiety as Dr Google told me more and more about my situation. No, this calcium score could not be reversed without surgery. Yes, it does put me at “relatively high risk” of a heart attack within the next three-to-five years.
For two weeks, I fretted about what life had in store for me. A lifestyle change was a certainty – but to what extent?
Finally, D-day arrived and I steeled myself in the waiting room for what was about to come.
Steeling myself to hear that number leave my GP’s lips. Steeling myself for that serious chat about the lifestyle changes that awaited.
Steeling myself for …
“Zero,” the doctor said.
What?
“Zero.”
My calcium score was zero, which was the very best number (or lack thereof) one could hope for.
That’s when I swore to my doctor that I had seen a calcium score of 209 on my scans. I was certain of it.
“If it was 209, we’d be having a very different conversation right now,” he reassured me.
Eventually, after searching through all the scans to find the offending line, my complete and utter inability to make sense of medical scans became clear.
The 209 referred to the milliampere-seconds, whatever the hell they are, that the big doughnut machine used to study my innards. Or something like that – don’t ask me, I’m not a doctor.
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And that’s the point, really.
My relief was as palpable as the realisation that I really was quite an idiot.
More and more of us are turning to Dr Google to get to the bottom of whatever ails us. But while taking an interest in one’s health can only be a positive thing, self-diagnosis is a mug’s game.
Despite this clear evidence to the contrary, I’m pretty loath to share my medical business with the world. But this experience has given me a rare piece of wisdom to impart upon others.
When it comes to all this medical sciencey stuff, it really is best left to the experts.
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