Polypill Concept in the press
The polypill concept has attracted much media attention. Here are some examples.
"if half of the over-50s in the UK took the daily pill, it would prevent 94,000 heart attacks and strokes each year"
"This gave the participants readings more usually seen in someone decades younger"
"highlights fresh efforts to challenge the traditional model of drug development"
"a daily tablet combining several low-dose drugs that could protect against heart attacks and strokes"
"the risk factors are high in us all, so everyone is at risk...little to lose by the widespread use of these drugs"
"The health care system is ignoring world’s most promising approach to preventing cardiovascular disease"
"The polypill has finally been approved for the WHO’s Essential Medicines list, but hurdles remain in terms of access and availability"
What is Preventive Medicine?
Preventive Medicine is the science of preventing disease rather than treating existing disease. Increasingly medicines can be used in this way, for example, taking anti-malaria tablets before you go on holiday.
The preventive medication used in the Polypill Prevention Programme is a powerful example of preventive medicine. All the medications used have been widely used to treat people with cardiovascular disease. The objective with the Polypill Prevention Programme approach is to prevent these diseases from arising in the first place.
As a result, if you join the Polypill Prevention Programme, you are not a patient - you take the course of medication in order to avoid becoming a patient. As the medications have been used for many years in the treatment of people with cardiovascular disease, their safety profile is well documented as well as the evidence on their effectiveness (see above).
For more information, you may like to view the Wikipedia entry on Preventive Medicine.