Is there a scope of polypill in CMAAO countries in people with poor
adherence to medicines?
Dr KK Aggarwal
President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA
A study in the New England
Journal of Medicine reported positive results for people taking a
polypill to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
The study enrolled 303 people with estimated
10-year risk of CVD at 13%.
Half of the study subjects were
randomly assigned to receive a polypill containing low-dose atorvastatin (to
lower cholesterol) and three medications to lower blood pressure (amlodipine,
losartan, and hydrochlorothiazide). The other half were randomly assigned to
“usual care” (as recommended by their personal physicians) and compared to the
polypill group after one year.
Those assigned to the polypill group
had larger reductions in blood pressure, larger drops in LDL (“bad”)
cholesterol and excellent medication adherence.
There were no serious medication-related
side effects reported in either group.
Authors estimated that based on the
observed reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol levels, treatment with
the polypill could reduce cardiovascular events by 25%.
Also another study published in The
Lancet, found a reduction in major cardiovascular events with a different
polypill (which included aspirin)
