By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2020 (HealthDay Information) — A single capsule loaded with cholesterol and blood pressure medications can cut back your danger of heart attack and stroke by as a lot as 40%, a brand new worldwide research studies.
The “polypill” containing three generic blood stress medicines and a statin dramatically decreased the danger of heart-related sickness in folks with no prior historical past of coronary heart issues, in accordance with clinical trial outcomes.
When taken by itself, the polypill decreased by about 20% the danger of coronary heart assault, stroke, procedures to reopen clogged arteries and different heart disease, the researchers reported.
The polypill mixed with every day low-dose aspirin was much more efficient, decreasing coronary heart well being issues by as much as 40%, the findings confirmed.
“We have estimated that if even simply one-half of individuals with high blood pressure or diabetes have been handled with such a polypill, at the very least someplace between 2 and 4 million untimely deaths, coronary heart assaults and strokes can be prevented yearly,” mentioned lead researcher Dr. Salim Yusuf, a professor of medication at McMaster College in Canada.
Such a polypill would produce other advantages as properly, Yusuf mentioned. It might be simpler for sufferers, who would not must juggle fistfuls of every day medicines, and for medical doctors who’d solely have to put in writing one prescription. A single capsule is also cheaper to market and distribute.
“I personally would identical to to get folks to make use of the elements both individually or collectively. If it is extra handy collectively, why not?” Yusuf mentioned.
The research outcomes have been revealed on-line Nov. 13 within the New England Journal of Drugs. For the trial, greater than 5,700 folks from 9 international locations have been randomly assigned to one among 4 teams. They have been requested to take one of many following every day: each the polypill and aspirin, the polypill alone, aspirin alone, or solely a placebo.
The polypill used on this research included cholesterol-lowering simvastatin and three blood stress meds (a beta blocker known as atenolol, a diuretic known as hydrochlorothiazide and an ACE inhibitor known as ramipril).
In contrast with placebo, the polypill efficiently lowered blood stress and ldl cholesterol, the investigators discovered.
