Heart Disease Polypill: Aspirin + Statins + ACE Inhibitors
September 5, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Taking medication is a chore. For heart disease patients on a maintenance dose of three or more drugs at a time, it can be even more of a hassle. One solution may be the newly developed polypill for heart disease and stroke made-up of a combination of aspirin, statins, and ACE inhibitors.
Dr. Sidney Smith, of the World Heart Federation:
Potentially, millions of lives could be saved worldwide by this. These therapies are known to reduce mortality by up to 50% or more.
The polypill will be tested in Spain first and would cost just 20 percent of current drug therapy. Of course, patients will have to be monitored carefully for side effects but that would be true of any prescription.
A cheaper, more readily available treatment for heart disease would be a welcome relief for developing countries already beginning to suffer the health effects of Westernization aka fast food culture.
San Francisco Chronicle, September 4, 2006
Technorati Tags: polypill, heart disease, heart, aspirin, statins, ace inhibitor, disease, illness, health, cardiovascular disease, cvd, developing countries, spain
