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Four in one polypill halves predicted cardiovascular risk, international study shows

BMJ 2011; 342 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d3355 (Published 27 May 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d3355
  1. Susan Mayor
  1. 1London

A combination pill containing aspirin, two blood pressure lowering agents, and a statin halved the predicted risk of heart disease and stroke in a randomised study of people with raised cardiovascular risk but no indications for any of these medicines.

The international trial randomised 378 people with an estimated five year cardiovascular disease risk of more than 7.5% to a polypill or placebo. The polypill contained 75 mg aspirin, 10 mg lisinopril, 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, and 20 mg simvastatin. None of the participants had any indication for the individual components.

Results reported on 26 May showed that 12 weeks treatment with the polypill reduced mean systolic blood pressure by 9.9 mmHg (95% CI 7.7 to 12.1) and LDL cholesterol by 0.8 mmol/L (95% CI 0.6 …

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