By The Numbers

This page is all about the numbers. As I have more tests and get more results, more data will likely get added. For now, this is what I have. For those that know me, it will be no surprise that I've created a spreadsheet to keep track of some of these trends and progress. Others are direct screen shots from the Guava Health app that I started using early in 2026.

First, here's the one that started it all. I decided to get a CT heart scan late in 2025, mainly because there is a history of heart issues on my dad's side of the family. The scan detects calcium and gives an indication of how much plaque is present in the arteries around the heart. My overall results weren't terrible, but since the majority of the plaque was in my left main artery, the cardiologist said we needed to be aggressive about getting more details and making preventative changes - i.e., changes designed to prevent additional plaque buildup.

We would start by getting a more detailed picture of how healthy my heart is by doing a couple more tests. We scheduled a heart stress test and an echocardiogram. The summarized results are shown in these screenshots:

Although neither of these results provides a detailed enough picture to say what percentage my left main artery is actually blocked, they also don't raise any alarms. At this point my heart appears healthy and more precise or invasive tests don't appear to be necessary. Good news so far.

Part two is making some preventative changes. The three key areas to focus on initially are glucose, cholesterol, and weight. My glucose numbers have never been a problem, so no real concern there. Now we're down to focusing on weight and cholesterol. The doctors immediately wanted to prescribe medication. Both my cardiologist and my new weight control specialist. On the one hand, I sort of get it. The cardiologist even said during my second appointment, that the vast majority of people she sees that say "I'll lose some weight", don't actually lose any significant weight, and a year later they end up on the medications anyway. At that point they've lost a year of taking preventative measures and their risk of heart attack has increased.

I decided I'm going to try to make lifestyle changes first. I'd rather not be on cholesterol medications for the rest of my life, and I really don't want to be a GLP-1 guinea pig. So, goal #1 is to lower my cholesterol to slow or even prevent further plaque buildup. I haven't been able to locate a lot of historical data, but what I do have aligns with what I remember. My numbers have always been at or near the high end of "normal". However, with the new CT scan results, my cardiologist has lowered my LDL goal from 100 to 55! As you can see on the chart below, I've made some progress, but I still have some work to do to reach the goal of a 55 LDL number.

Goal #2 is to lose some weight and get to a healthy BMI. Healthier weight means healthier liver, and we all know where an unhealthy liver can lead. In my case, a healthier liver means a liver that is more efficient at filtering out the bad cholesterol. The first chart shows how my weight has yo-yoed over the last several years. That's why I was diagnosed with "fatty liver" at one point. The second one shows my weight loss progress so far this year. I'm hoping posting these graphs here and updating them regularly will help keep me accountable. I'm counting on you to help me with that accountability.

So, that's about it. Those are the numbers for now. My primary goal is to avoid placing a big red X on these charts with a note that says "Heart attack happened here". Stay tuned!

Note: Many of the charts on this page come from the Guava Health app that I've started using for both myself and Becky. It's an awesome tool for collecting health data across providers. Let me know if you're interested in using it and I'll send you a referral link.