“Polypill” to fight cardiovascular disease: Patients before populations

doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7418.807

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Peter Trewby (peter.trewby@sdhc-tr.northy.nhs.uk), consultant physician,
Catherine Trewby, general practitioner

Darlington Memorial Hospital, Darlington DL3 6HX
Clifton Court Medical Practice, Darlington DL1 5JN

EDITOR—Wald and Law's provocative paper and the accompanying editorial on the “Polypill” was disappointing in focusing only on the advantage to the population and ignoring the individual's views of the benefit he or she would wish to see from taking preventive drugs.1 2

The median threshold of absolute risk reduction below which patients would not wish to take a preventive drug may be as high as 30% over five years. This …