Treatments / Cardiovascular

A man in his fifties walking early in the morning

Cholesterol and heart risk treatment in Costa Rica

Cholesterol, ApoB and the arterial risk that shows nothing at all until the day it does. The area where treating early changes the most, and where waiting costs the most.

Colegio de Médicos y CirujanosLicensed pharmaciesReceta DigitalAll 7 provinces, by video

For your heart

from $143per monthapprox. ₡71,500 per month

An assessment with a physician, by video
A seven-marker baseline panel at a laboratory near you
A prescription through Receta Digital, if treatment is right for you
A repeat panel at three months, then once a year

Measure my biomarkers No payment is taken to book, and we never reply with a prescription.

What it looks at

Cardiovascular: what this programme is for

ApoB and LDL

The particles that actually carry cholesterol into the artery wall.

Triglycerides and HDL

The rest of the picture, read together rather than one number at a time.

Blood sugar

HbA1c is tracked, because sugar and arterial risk travel together.

Treating early

Arterial risk shows nothing until the day it does. This is where acting early changes the most.

How it works

Four steps

Nothing is prescribed before your blood has been drawn and read. We take no margin on your laboratory tests.

1
Pre-qualification

A short questionnaire. Free, no appointment, no clinician. It tells us what to measure, and it rules out anyone this would not be safe for. Not everyone goes further, and that is the point.
2
Bloodwork (if applicable)

Everyone is assessed on blood: the seven baseline markers, plus whatever your answers call for. What varies is only whether you need a fresh draw, or recent results of your own will do.
3
Expert plan

A molecular biologist reads your panel; a physician decides whether medicine is right at all. Either answer comes with a plan — medicine, or nutrition alone. Nobody leaves with nothing.
4
Continued monitoring

Someone stays with you. A repeat panel at three months, then once a year — re-measuring what moved rather than everything, with shorter check-ins in between so nothing drifts unnoticed.

Pricing

Cardiovascular: what it costs

from $143 per month — the medicine and the clinic fee together. The assessment and the laboratory panel are paid once at the start, and the laboratory is paid directly.

Cardiovascular

from $143per monthapprox. ₡71,500 per month

Medicine $18Clinic fee $125

Everyone starts here

The Clinic Fee

The same for every patient, whatever your plan.

Initial assessment, 30 minutes$125₡62,500

Monitoring, and your doctor two to three times a year$125/mo₡62,500

Baseline panel, seven markersfrom $219₡109,300

Repeat panel, three markersfrom $106₡53,000

Sometimes the answer is no medicine.The fee buys the assessment and the reading of your results, not a prescription. If your panel says treatment is not right for you, your doctor will say so — and we would rather tell you that here than after you have paid.

Laboratory figures are the Colegio de Microbiólogos minimum tariff, which is the legal floor in Costa Rica; your laboratory may charge above it, and anything your doctor adds for your own case is extra. Colon figures are converted at ₡500 to the dollar on 22 October 2026, and the rate moves. Package prices are indicative and include the clinic fee above. Medicines are dispensed by a licensed pharmacy and paid for there. Laboratory fees are paid to the laboratory.

The medicine

What your doctor may prescribe

A statin — a small moleculeYour liver makes most of your cholesterol, not your dinner. A statin slows that production, which is why diet alone so often fails to move the number.

PrescribedAtorvastatin or rosuvastatin, one tablet in the evening, from a licensed pharmacy.

TrackedApoB, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, liver enzymes, HbA1c

ReviewedFirst review at three months, then once a year.

Your dose

How the dose is decided

On your results, not on a chart. Your doctor sets it after reading your panel and your history with you.
Adjusted on repeat testing. The three-month panel shows what moved, and the plan follows it.
Sometimes the answer is no medicine. If your results say treatment is not right for you, your doctor will say so.

Who reads your results

A physician and a molecular biologist

A panel is only worth what the person reading it knows. These are the people who would read yours.

Dr. Luis Chacón

Prescribing physician

A Costa Rican physician in general practice, with a year of clinical training through the CCSS across primary care, hospital and ambulatory settings. He works daily with chronic pain, sleep disorders and inflammatory conditions, taking an evidence-based approach, and prescribes on what he finds rather than on what is asked for.

M.D., Universidad de Ciencias Médicas (UCIMED)
MED18961 — Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos de Costa Rica

Laura Flanagan

Biomarkers

Over thirty years in scientific research as a molecular biologist, now working in functional nutrition. She specialises in functional blood chemistry analysis — reading a panel for the subclinical drift that sits inside the reference range and gets reported as normal. That is the part of this clinic most people underestimate.

B.S., M.S. · Certified Functional Nutrition Counselor, Functional Nutrition Alliance
Member, National Association of Drugless Practitioners

Every prescription is written by a physician registered with the Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos de Costa Rica, after an individual assessment, and dispensed by a licensed pharmacy.

Questions

Cardiovascular: common questions

How much does it cost per month?

from $143 per month, which is about ₡71,500 per month. That is the medicine and the clinic fee together. The initial assessment and the laboratory panel are separate, and are set out above.

Do I need blood work first?

Yes. Nothing is prescribed before your blood has been drawn and read. If you have recent results of your own, they may do instead of a fresh draw.

What if my results say medicine is not right for me?

Then your doctor will say so, and you still leave with a plan. The fee buys the assessment and the reading of your results, not a prescription.

Is it covered by insurance?

Usually not. Laboratory fees are paid to the laboratory and medicines at the pharmacy, so you can see every part of what you pay.

Why measure ApoB?

Because it counts the particles that carry cholesterol into the artery wall, which LDL alone can miss. ApoB explained goes into it.

Can I fix it with diet alone?

Sometimes, and your plan will include it either way. But your liver makes most of your cholesterol, not your dinner, which is why diet alone so often fails to move the number.

How is my risk worked out?

From your results, your blood pressure and your history together. How cardiovascular risk is calculated explains it.

Measure it rather than guess

Every patient starts the same way: an assessment with a physician, then a full biomarker panel drawn at a laboratory near you. Whether any medicine follows is your doctor’s decision, made after reading your results with you.

Measure my biomarkers

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This page is information about a medical service. It is not medical advice, and nothing on it recommends or promotes any specific medicine. Treatment is prescribed only by a licensed physician after an individual assessment, and only where clinically appropriate.