WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- A single pill containing low doses of combined medications could lower heart disease risk better than taking separate medications, a new study showed.
The study published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine said that taking one daily pill with three medications to treat high blood pressure and one to lower cholesterol reduced the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease by 25 percent.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 303 adults for 12 months, with half of them taking the polybill and the other half adopting their usual medical routine.
The researchers found that the participants taking the polypill had decreased blood pressure by an average of 7 mm Hg and reduced Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
