AN all-in-one protective pill for seemingly healthy people was once seen as a wild fantasy. Now a five-drug “polypill” has produced promising results.
Polypills are designed to prevent and treat multiple components of cardiovascular disease all at once. They are also a lot less hassle than taking lots of pills, so people are more likely to comply. Salim Yusuf at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and his colleagues tested Polycap, which contains three drugs to lower blood pressure, a statin and aspirin, for three months in people without cardiovascular disease but with one risk factor for it, such…
