Combination Polypill Lowers Risk of Major Cardiovascular Events in Older Heart Disease Patients

According to a new study published on Friday, August 26, in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Spain, older heart disease patients who took a combination polypill had a lower risk of major cardiovascular events.

Study authors looked at 2,499 patients in seven European countries who had a history of type 1 myocardial infarction in the past six months and were either a minimum age of 65 with at least one risk factor, such as mild or moderate kidney dysfunction or diabetes or over the age of 75.

Half the patients were given the polypill containing three different medications: aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin. The other patients received the usual standard of care. Patients who participated in the study, led by Dr. Valentin Fuster, general director of the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research and director of Mount Sinai Heart in New York City, were followed for a median of three years.

Polypill reduces cardiovascular death by 33 percent 

The researchers found 71 deaths in the usual-care group and 48 cardiovascular deaths in the polypill group, meaning patients who took the latter treatment had a relative risk reduction of 33 percent for cardiovascular death. The polypill was also favorable in other measures studied in the trial, such as myocardial infarction or stroke.

Fuster said that the polypill and trial came after 15 years of work. He and his colleagues agreed that one of the main problems in medicine is the lack of adherence to the medication patients are meant to be taking. That holds true particularly in the cardiovascular field and most especially in heart attack patients.

The American Heart Association said that one of the first things people can do to prevent another heart attack after having one is to take medications prescribed to them, CNN reported.

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Polypill yielded superb results

Fuster said it seems they have a tremendous kind of tool, a simple polypill, that is significantly better. He added that probably most of the reason is because of better adherence. Fuster explained that even though it is a simple drug, it has yielded superb results, and the impact is as good or even better than aspirin in the past.

He noted that the polypill is a medication that could significantly impact the general population. Data from the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that someone in the country has a heart attack every 40 seconds. There are around 805,000 heart attacks in the U.S. every year, 200,000 of which happen to people who already have one.

There are some limitations to the study, though, including all patients were enrolled before the COVID-19 pandemic and that the trial was not performed in a blind manner.

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