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For people who have heart diseases like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, there are many treatments we know work. There's lots of evidence that different treatments lower cholesterol and lowerblood pressure. In turn, this reduces people's risk of heart attacks and strokes. There's been lots of debate and research about whether these treatments could be combined in one pill, dubbed a ‘polypill'. There are also lots of questions about whether a polypill could prevent heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes in healthy people. This is known as ‘primary prevention' – giving people who don't yet have heart disease treatments to prevent problems later in life.
If the idea of popping a pill for high cholesterol, another to prevent clots, and yet another pill to protect your heart's overall health doesn’t sit well with you—not to mention your stomach—help is on the way. Called the “polypill,” this single medication could reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by half, according to new research presented at the recent Cardiovascular Disease Prevention International Symposium in Miami.
We followed up with Khurram Nasir, MD, polypill researcher and Director of the Center for Prevention and Wellness Research at Baptist Health South Florida, for the scoop on this promising new treatment.
What exactly is it? The polypill isn’t a new drug per se, but a new combination of several classes of medication that have already been shown to prevent heart attacks—cholesterol-lowering statins, aspirin, and one or more blood pressure-lowering medications. “The theory is that by combining three pills into one, the polypill can …
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