ORLANDO, Fla. — A single daily pill that combines aspirin and four blood-pressure and cholesterol medicines has passed its first big test, potentially offering a cheap, simple way to prevent heart disease and stroke.
The experimental “poly pill” proved as effective as nearly all of its components taken alone, with no greater side effects, a major study found. Taking it could cut a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke roughly in half, the study concludes.
This “one-size-fits-most” approach could make heart- disease prevention much more common and effective, doctors say.
“Widely applied, this could have profound implications,” said Dr. Robert Harrington, an American College of Cardiology spokesman and chief of Duke University’s heart-research institute. “President Obama is trying to offer the greatest care to the greatest number. This very much fits in with that.”
The polypill also has big psychological advantages, said Dr. James Stein of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“If you take any medicines, you know that every pill you see in your hand makes you feel five years older. Patients really object to pill burden” and respond by skipping doses, he said.
The study was led by Dr. Salim Yusuf of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and Dr. Prem Pais of St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, India. Results were presented Monday at the cardiology college’s conference in Florida.
