In your 60s and 70s, having some coronary calcium is the norm. Most people this age do, so the fact that calcium is present tells you little. What matters is how much there is, and how that compares with other people your age.
The exception is a score of zero. At 45 a zero is expected. At 70 it is a minority result and one of the strongest available signs of low short-term risk. This page covers how to read both ends of the range later in life.
Key takeaways
- Calcium is common after 60, which makes the amount far more informative than a simple yes or no.
- A percentile shows whether your plaque burden is light, average or heavy for your age.
- High scores carry high risk in older adults too, even when the percentile looks ordinary.
- A zero at this age is uncommon and points to much lower risk than age alone would predict.
- Risk calculators lean heavily on age, so a scan can help separate older adults who are truly at higher risk from those who are not.
How common calcium is at this age
The BioImage study gives a useful snapshot. In that study of 5,805 adults with an average age of 69 and no known cardiovascular disease, about one in three (32%) had a calcium score of zero.1 The other two thirds had some.
Scores are higher in men than in women at every age, and they keep rising through the 70s and 80s.
Why the amount matters more than presence
At 45, the useful question is whether there is any calcium at all. By 65 that question has mostly been answered by time. The useful questions become: how much, and is that a lot for me?
| Result at 60 to 79 | How it is usually read |
|---|---|
| 0 | Uncommon and favorable. Short-term risk is low, and medication can often be reconsidered |
| 1 to 99 | Often average or better for age. Plaque is present, and guidance still leans toward treatment |
| 100 to 399 | Common at this age, and a clear reason to treat risk factors firmly |
| 400 or more | High risk, whatever the percentile says |
Your percentile tells you where you rank among people of your age, sex and background. The calcium score by age guide explains how to find it.
One caution about percentiles in older adults: they can make a large score look ordinary. As that guide explains, the raw score predicts events better than the percentile does, and scores above 400 carry high risk at any ranking. If your number is in that range, read our guide to a calcium score of 400 and above and do not be reassured by an average percentile.
Age alone is a blunt tool
Risk calculators weight age heavily. By the late 60s, almost everyone is labeled as elevated risk whether or not their arteries show much disease. In BioImage, 86% of participants qualified for a statin under the risk-based rules in use at the time.
A calcium score looks at the arteries directly, and the evidence suggests it sorts older adults better than their birth date does. In a pooled analysis of 4,778 adults over 60 from three US studies, the calcium score predicted coronary heart disease better than age did.2 The authors added that whether the score should guide statin decisions in older adults still needed study, and that caveat stands.
The value of a zero later in life
A zero after 60 means decades of exposure to cholesterol, blood pressure and everything else have not produced detectable calcified plaque.
In BioImage, a score of zero was the strongest of 13 markers of low risk that were tested, and it was linked to about 80% lower risk of coronary heart disease than standard risk factors predicted.3 Follow-up in that analysis was short, under three years, so it speaks to the near term.
In a study of more than 44,000 people referred for a scan, adults aged 75 and older with a score of zero had a survival rate of 98% over about five and a half years, close to that of younger adults with a zero.4
This is why a zero can change a medication conversation. The 2026 ACC/AHA guideline supports deferring cholesterol-lowering treatment and rescanning in three to seven years after a score of zero, unless a person has diabetes, smokes, has familial hypercholesterolemia or has a strong family history.5 If you already take a statin, do not stop it because of a scan. That is a decision to make with your prescriber, who knows why it was started.
The limits of a zero still apply at this age. They are set out in what a calcium score of zero does and does not mean.
When a scan is less useful
A calcium score helps most when the answer would change what you do. It adds little if:
- You already have diagnosed heart disease, a stent or a prior heart attack. Treatment is already indicated.
- You are on treatment, tolerate it well and would continue regardless of the result.
- You have symptoms. Chest pain or breathlessness with effort calls for a diagnostic work-up, not a screening scan.
The US Preventive Services Task Force has also judged the evidence insufficient to weigh the benefits and harms of adding a calcium score to standard risk assessment in adults without symptoms.6 The scan is a tool for a specific decision, not a test every older adult needs.
Next step: a full assessment through Cardio Res-Q
The Cardio Res-Q Enhanced Assessment ($999) includes a coronary calcium score and a CIMT ultrasound together with Dr. Varano's clinical evaluation, advanced labs and a personalized heart protection plan. Your provider orders the calcium scan, and it is done at an outside imaging facility. If you have a recent score already, the Comprehensive Assessment ($775) covers the evaluation, labs and plan without the imaging.
Cardio Res-Q does not replace your cardiologist or primary care doctor, and we share results with them. If you are weighing the cost, read is preventive heart testing worth the money, or go to the Cardio Res-Q program page to book.
Are You a Candidate for Cardio Res-Q?
Three quick questions about the risk factors we screen for. Your answers stay between you and the clinic.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal calcium score for a 70-year-old?
There is no single normal value, because most 70-year-olds have some calcium and the typical amount differs by sex and background. A score of zero is better than average. To see where you stand, look up the percentile for your age, sex and ethnicity, and read it together with the raw score.
Is a calcium score of 200 bad at 68?
It may be close to average for a man of 68 and above average for a woman, but average is not the same as safe. A score over 100 reflects established plaque and a level of risk at which treatment of risk factors is generally advised, whatever the percentile.
I am 72 with a score of zero. Can I stop my statin?
Not on the strength of the scan alone, and not without your prescriber. A zero at 72 is a favorable finding and a fair reason to review your treatment. Whether to continue depends on why the statin was started, your other conditions and your lab results.
Related reading
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Decisions about testing and medication should be made with your clinician. If you have chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, call 911.
