A single pill that combines aspirin and four drugs to fight blood pressure and cholesterol , taken once a day, appears to offer a cheap and easy way to prevent heart attacks.
The experimental stage polypill has been shown to be as effective as almost all ingredients taken separately and does not appear to cause serious side effects. "If applied widely, that could have very profound implications," said Dr. Robert Harrington of the American Academy of Cardiology.
The new drug cocktail also offers great psychological breakthroughs, said Dr. James Stein of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "When a person takes medicine, every pill he sees in his hand makes him feel five years older," he explained.
The study tested Polycap , a combination medicine created by the Ahmedabad pharmaceutical company Cadila in India. It contains low doses of three medicines to treat blood pressure (atenolol, ramipril and thiazide), in addition to the drug Zocor, which lowers cholesterol levels, and a baby aspirin (100 milligrams). The results have been published in the journal The Lancet .
