Plaque Process

Know the difference of soft plaque vs calcified plaque

CAC scores of 100 or higher mean an individual has plaque present in the coronary arteries and a much higher risk of a heart attack than indicated solely by his cholesterol level and other risk factors. The higher the CAC score, the more plaque is present.
Calcified plaque indicates that heart disease has been present long enough for an inflamed lesion to heal and calcify. The CAC score is like the tip of an iceberg, whereas the soft plaque is what’s under the surface. What’s really dangerous is the soft plaque, and experts estimate that there is approximately four times as much soft plaque present as hard, or calcified, plaque.
​
Soft plaque is like say pouring bacon fat down your sink and begins to narrow the arteries no test current to check for this except if you do your CRP test and Lp2a test these are inflammation markers and if they are out of range the odds are you have soft plaque. Monitor you BP and pulse rates.

When soft plaque ruptures, it’s similar to having a pimple inside the artery that breaks open. The body responds by forming a clot to heal the lesion, but if the clot is large, it blocks the artery off completely, quite suddenly, and can cause a heart attack or sudden death.
The presence of calcium in the arteries of the heart is an excellent measure of the presence of what is called “subclinical” atherosclerotic disease and leaders in cardiovascular prevention now would equate these CAC scores to a coronary disease risk equivalent…

Just know soft plaque builds up in the inner walls of the vessel  between the layers. When calication occurs when the inner wall of such has ruptured and now the calcification process takes place to put it in the simplest of terms.

Cut and paste the link below great explanation of what has been stated above: