Polypills — A Central Strategy for Improving Cardiovascular Health

Abstract

The polypill concept garnered substantial attention in 2003 after the publication of a modeling analysis that proposed that the use of fixed-dose combination therapy in persons with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and in all other adults 55 years of age or older could reduce disease burden by 80% or more.¹ Notably, these models overestimated the effects of aspirin and folic acid and assumed full long-term adherence to the regimen. Subsequent randomized trials testing the effects of different polypills in small populations over short periods of time showed reductions in the cholesterol level and blood pressure and increases in the percentages . . .