‘ Polypill’ taken with aspirin ‘ cuts cardiac and stroke risk by up to 40pc’

A “POLYPILL” packed with four different medications to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol can cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes by up to 40 per cent when taken with aspirin, a study suggests.

Scientists have also found that when taken on its own on a daily basis, the polypill may reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by about 20 per cent among those who had no previous heart disease or stroke incidents but were at intermediate risk.

The researchers say the findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, could help save millions of people from experiencing serious heart diseaseorstrokeeachyear. Theyalso said the medication is convenient for patients to use as it combines multiple drugs in a single pill that can be taken once a day.

Prem Pais, co- principal investigator of the study and professor of St John’s Medical College and Research Institute in Bangalore, India, said: “A polypill is not only effective, it is likely to be cost effective since it is based on using commonly- used generic drugs.

“A polypill is convenient for patients to use as it combines several effective drugs in a single pill and is taken once a day, which would be expected to improve adherence.”

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of deaths globally, taking nearly 18 million lives each year, according to the World Health Organisation.

In the UK, there are more than seven million people living with heart and circulatory diseases, which cause nearly 170,000 deaths each year.

As part of the international study, the researchers recruited 5,714participantsfromninecountries, with men aged 50 or older and women 55 or older and followed them for nearly five years.

They looked at the effects of the polypill alone compared with a placebo – a substance designed to have no therapeutic value – aspirin alone versus a placebo, and the polypill plus aspirin compared with a double placebo.

Those in the aspirin groups were given a daily dose 75mg of the medication.

The researchers said among those who continued to take the medications without interruption, the benefits of polypill taken with aspirin were larger.