I'm switching to telmisartan from lisinopril (need advice)

[Supertrain]

Trying again with SesameCare in an hour.
$29 for video visit with Costco discount.

Success. $29 for Seasamecare + $50 for 90x Telmisartan 80mg and Tadalafil 5mg (used goodrx for discount but CVS was $2 cheaper on their own discount).
$79 for 180 days of meds.
Now I could repeat with goodrx because I have a current script. Basically same price.

But Seasamecare wouldn’t refer me for a coronary artery calcium scan. Oh well. Open to suggestions on how to get a CAC coronary artery score CT scan.

 

[Ghoul]

Success. $29 for Seasamecare + $50 for 90x Telmisartan 80mg and Tadalafil 5mg (used goodrx for discount but CVS was $2 cheaper on their own discount).
$79 for 180 days of meds.
Now I could repeat with goodrx because I have a current script. Basically same price.

But Seasamecare wouldn’t refer me for a coronary artery calcium scan. Oh well. Open to suggestions on how to get a CAC coronary artery score CT scan.

Go to Mdsave. They're like GoodRx for diagnostic procedures:

https://www.mdsave.com/t/imaging-radiology

Go to "Cardiac Imaging" / Calcium Score

Find the facility you want to use.


Go to CallOnDoc:

Online Doctor for Diagnostic Imaging | CallonDoc

Talk to one of our many highly trained online doctors and easily get the diagnostic imaging you need today!

www.callondoc.com

Pick "CT Scan" $50 to get a prescrip.

Tell them your Dad had a heart attack in his 40s, your grandmother too...so you just want to stay on top of things.

You can get a CT Angiography if you want to go all the way. They'll use contrast dye and get a completely. accurate picture of not only calcified plaque, but the soft plaque buildup in all the critical vessels. It's about 2.5x the cost of a Calcium Score CT.

This scan replaces a lot of the older cardiac diagnostics, like stress tests, EKG, and Echocardiogram. It's so good my insurance covers it without a deductible IF you schedule it before they start using the battery of older, money making tests a lot of places still use by default.

 

[Supertrain]

Go to Mdsave. They're like GoodRx for diagnostic procedures:
…
Go to CallOnDoc:
…
You can get a CT Angiography if you want to go all the way. …

Thanks for the recommendations on finding a CAC scan location - I found it was cheap and much closer to me using radiologyassist.com ($88 one hour away vs $195 three hours away from mdsave.com; though mdsave was cheaper for the CCTA scan at $480 vs $456, but still too far away).

This website has a helpful description of CAC compared with CCTA, and here’s an AI summary of that comparison:
“CAC (Coronary Artery Calcium) test measures calcified plaque in coronary arteries, providing a risk score for heart disease. It's quick and suited for asymptomatic patients with risk factors.

CCTA (Coronary CT Angiography) offers detailed images of coronary arteries, showing plaque, blockages, and blood flow. It's used for patients with chest pain or unclear test results.

Choose CAC for risk assessment in asymptomatic individuals or when considering statins. Opt for CCTA if experiencing symptoms, need detailed diagnosis, or have inconclusive results from other tests.

CAC is faster and focuses on risk, while CCTA provides more comprehensive information for diagnosis and treatment planning.”

 

[Millard]

I'm going to preface this by saying research in this area is thin, and what I'm going to present is based on what I've extrapolated as a layman, piecing together data from disparate sources. It's worth noting however, that Valsartan has long been banned by several sports anti-doping bodies.

I think the distinguishing "performance enhancing" characteristic of Valsartan is its ability to maintain lowered Central Systolic Pressure during exercise.

Thank you for this and the references ^^^

The research is really thin when it comes to athletic performance. Sadly, it seems it's only WADA that is interested in this type of research (for the purpose banning them in athletes). I really wish it was a more active area.

I think it's clear that sartans/ARBs have a clear advantage over most other anti-hypertensive meds in terms of their effect on athletic performance (and any improvement in sexual performance even a better bonus!) At the very least there doesn't appear to be negative effects and very likely only positive effects. (I included below the excellent table from the paper you shared with me.)

I still don't see convincing evidence that valsartan is clearly superior to other sartans when it comes to athletic performance variables. It would be great to have a study with a direct comparisons. Maybe there are? I haven't looked. Does anyone know?

BTW, do you know which athletic organizations ban sartans? I know WADA added telmisartan to their "monitoring list" but were removed after a few years without being added to the Prohibited List.