What are my options for getting a cardiovascular exam and treatment and how much do you think it will cost?

Question by Marcus: What are my options for getting a cardiovascular exam and treatment and how much do you think it will cost?
I’m scared. I lost my job and wasn’t able to continue paying for COBRA after a few months. I really feel like I need to get my heart checked. I have familial high cholesterol. I’m only 30 years old. My total cholesterol was 370 (HDL was 60, which is good) about a year and a half ago. I took a fairly high dose of Lipitor for only a few months, and my total cholesterol went down to 188! I had lost about 15-20 lbs during this process, and I’m still at that weight.

So, it’s about a year later now, and I have a pretty good feeling that the cholesterol is back up….My diet is generally better now than it was then, and I’ve started doing cardio on the eliptical machine, but it’s only been a couple weeks. So far, so good.

I check my blood pressure regularly, and it seems to be OK most of the time. The highest I’ve seen my systolic is 140, but this is only once in a while. It’s usually between 115 and 130. My diastolic is usually pretty low. I think the highest I’ve measured it at was like 83. It’s frequently in the 70’s and I’ve even seen it dip below 70, but this isn’t the norm.

My pulse is always high. I’d say that the lowest it goes is into the low 80’s, but I’ve only observed that a few times. Typically, it’s between 90-100. I think I’ve probably always had a fairly high standing pulse rate, so this might just be part of my physiology. We’ll see over the next few months if the cardio exercise lowers my pulse….I’m just wondering if my high pulse is correlated with my high cholesterol and/or plaque buildup. By the way, I also sweat easily, and I always have (along with the high pulse, this makes me wonder about thyroid issues, but I’ve had my thyroid checked before and it was “normal”).

My grandma on my dad’s side had a couple strokes. My dad has high cholesterol, which is treated with statin drugs. He never goes off them. He’s done a nuclear stress test, and everythings checked out for him, so hopefully that’s a good sign for me. Other than my dad’s mom, I don’t think anyone in my immediate family has had cardiac issues. My mom’s cousin had a heart attack.

I guess I never realized how good I had it when I had insurance….Even if I could afford to buy an “individual” plan, I doubt it would cover things like this.

Basically, I’m stuck. I’m trying to figure out the cheapest way to pay for all of this out of pocket, if that’s even possible. There’s no way I could afford to see a cardiologist. If I get a checkup with a GP, it’ll be a couple hundred for that + the lab tests (I have no idea how much these cost) + the drugs + follow up visits.

The drugs might be the most expensive part, however, I may qualify for patient assistance. I guess Pfizer is offering free Lipitor for the jobless.

So basically, I’m looking for suggestions and opinions on the best way to go about getting treatment, and I’d like your estimates as to how much I can expect to pay for all of this. I am a person of little means right now. Thanks!
Edit:
I said that my total cholesterol was 188 avter treatment with Lipitor….I found where I had written down the results, exactly, and here they are:

Total Cholesterol: 177
LDL: 121
HDL: 41 (went down from 60, which is bad)
Triglycerides: 74

Coronary Risk Factor: 4.3

Best answer:

Answer by gangadharan_nair
In addition to statin drugs, try to reduce the cholesterol further by diet and exercise. This is necessary since you may be at higher risk due to a family history of high cholesterol.
Your blood pressure varies between 115-130/ 70-83 mmHg. Your pulse pressure exceeds 40 mmHg.(Systolic BP– Diastolic BP). This is bad for the heart.
Hence you should undergo Echocardiography stress test.
Atorvastatin (generic name) Lipitor (brand name) is used along with diet, exercise, and weight-loss to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke and to decrease the chance that heart surgery will be needed in people who have heart disease or who are at risk of developing heart disease. Atorvastatin is also used to decrease the amount of cholesterol (a fat-like substance) and other fatty substances in the blood. This will decrease the risk of stroke, heart attack, and other heart diseases because when there are high levels of cholesterol and other fats in the blood, these substances may build up along the walls of the blood vessels and decrease or block blood flow to the heart. Atorvastatin is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body.
Please note that I am not a medical professional.

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