|
WASHINGTONMany patients who have heart disease or who have suffered a stroke dont take their medications as regularly as prescribed. One study shows that a number of stroke patients stop taking their pills within three months after having a . A new study in Britain finds that if patients with heart disease can take a single pill instead of several pills, they are more likely to stay on their medication. Patients at risk for or may be taking a lot of pills. Some could blood pressure. Other pills could control cholesterol. Still others might be prescribed to prevent a heart attack. Henryk Pycz, who has both high blood pressure and diabetes, participated in a study to see if he could do better in managing his health by reducing the number of pills he had to take. When I was taking the medication consisting of a variety of tablets, Id have either five, six or seven tablets to take, he said. Dr. Simon Thom, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at the Imperial College in London, knew it was hard for patients to all those medications. We know theres a big shortfall in the and continued usage of preventative medication, particularly in lower middle income countries, he said. Dr. Thom led a study that involved more than 2,000 patients. Almost 90 percent of them had suffered a stroke or had heart disease. The other 10 percent had a high risk of having one. Half of the participants received a combination daily medication known as a polypill that contained statins, blood pressure medication and another drug like aspirin to prevent blood clots. The other participants were told to continue taking their regular medications. Dr. Thom says the results clearly the polypill. | 
