A single pill containing medication to lower cholesterol and blood pressure may be more successful at preventing further strokes and heart attacks than separate drugs.
People who experienced a stroke or heart attack are prescribed several drugs, aimed at reducing the risk of another cardiac event. However, some do not consistently take their medications.
A trial called SECURE enrolled around 2,500 patients within six months of having a heart attack, and then randomly allocated them with either a polypill or usual care.
The polypill contained aspirin, a cholesterol-reducing drug called atorvastatin, and ramipril, which lowers blood pressure. Patients who were assigned usual care took all three drugs separately.
Scientists did a follow-up after three years and found that the number of deaths from heart and circulatory conditions, along with the number of further heart attacks or strokes, was lower in the group of patients who had taken the single pill.
Patients in the polypill group also had higher levels of adherence compared with those in the usual care group.
SECURE is the first randomised trial to study the impact of a polypill on recurrent cardiovascular events in heart attack patients.
The trial was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and led by experts from the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Madrid.
The results of the study were revealed at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona.
As many as 13 per cent of people who have had a stroke aged 60 or older will also have a heart attack within three days of the stroke. A heart attack can be also quickly followed by a stroke.
Studies show that non-adherence to medications remains a major problem for cardiovascular patients, leading to poor clinical outcomes, including rehospitalisation, subsequent myocardial infarction, and increased mortality risk.
