Inexpensive ‘transformational’ polypilla could reduce heart attacks and strokes by up to 40%, study finds

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Polypills can be taken alone or with an aspirin.

According to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, in what some researchers call a “transformational approach to preventing heart disease,” an inexpensive polypeptide, together with an aspirin, reduces heart attacks and strokes up to 40%.

The research was also presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions Friday.

A polypill is a drug that combines three different drugs for blood pressure (atenolol, ramipril and the hydrochlorothiazide “water pill”) and a cholesterol-lowering statin simvastatin. They are all generic drugs. Polypills can be taken alone or with an aspirin.

Polypills are widely used in Europe, but little marketed or used in the United States. The particular pill in this study was manufactured in India.

The study brought together more than 5,700 volunteers from around the world who the researchers followed for nearly five years.

The male volunteers were 50 years or older and the women 55 years or older. All of the volunteers were considered to be at moderate risk for heart problems due to underlying conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.

The group was split into a person who took a low dose aspirin, a polypill, polypill plus an aspirin, or a placebo.

The polypill with aspirin reduced heart problems and deaths by 31% and came with minimal side effects. Side effects included dizziness or low blood pressure. Those who continued to take the pill without interruption saw a 40% reduced risk of heart problems.

Only about 4% of the group who took the polypill and aspirin had a heart problem such as a stroke or heart attack or other heart problem followed by this study or died, compared to almost 6% in the placebo group. .

The results of this study are similar to previous research. A 2003 study found that polypill could prevent 88% of heart attacks and 80% of strokes.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and accounts for almost a quarter of all recorded deaths.

“We could save millions of people from serious heart disease or stroke every year through the effective use of polypill and aspirin,” said Salim Yusuf, co-principal investigator of the study and professor of medicine at McMaster University in Canada in a statement. Release.