We are all familiar with the motivational phrase, "Unity is Strength".
It seems that this applies to the realm of medicine as well, with recent research showing that a new five-in-one 'polypill' could substantially reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in middle-aged and older people.
This discovery is HUGE. According to the latest statistics, Heart disease and stroke are the top two and four, respectively, causes of death in Singapore. It's a huge problem throughout the World as well, and we have long been finding a solution to it. Thus, if this medicine proves to be viable, we'll be able to tremendously improve our quality of life!
The medication contains a combination of aspirin, three blood pressure-lowering drugs, and a statin, which are revolutionary drugs used in the treatment of heart disease.
Of even greater importance is the fact that the cost of these polypills are expected to be cheap, as the patents of the various medications included have already expired and so they should be relatively cheap to produce.
It was estimated by the researchers, who are from McMaster University in Canada and St John's Medical College in Bangalore, India, that the fall in blood pressure and cholesterol levels triggered by the pill could potentially cut rates of heart disease by an astounding 62 per cent and of stroke by 48 per cent.
The polypill can't be released yet as more tests have to be performed with regards to its safety. But this may just prove to be a small hurdle, given that the individual drugs that form the pill have already been approved some time ago.
I personally hope to see this polypill on shelves soon. How would our lives be changed when we substantially negate our risk of getting heart disease and stroke? We may not know yet, but what is clear is that our lives will certainly be improved. No matter which way you look at it, that's always a good thing.
References:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5078442/
Polypill-that-cuts-risk-of-heart-disease-and-stroke-could-save
-thousands-of-lives-a-year.html
http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/statistics.aspx?id=5526
It seems that this applies to the realm of medicine as well, with recent research showing that a new five-in-one 'polypill' could substantially reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in middle-aged and older people.
This discovery is HUGE. According to the latest statistics, Heart disease and stroke are the top two and four, respectively, causes of death in Singapore. It's a huge problem throughout the World as well, and we have long been finding a solution to it. Thus, if this medicine proves to be viable, we'll be able to tremendously improve our quality of life!
The medication contains a combination of aspirin, three blood pressure-lowering drugs, and a statin, which are revolutionary drugs used in the treatment of heart disease.
Of even greater importance is the fact that the cost of these polypills are expected to be cheap, as the patents of the various medications included have already expired and so they should be relatively cheap to produce.
It was estimated by the researchers, who are from McMaster University in Canada and St John's Medical College in Bangalore, India, that the fall in blood pressure and cholesterol levels triggered by the pill could potentially cut rates of heart disease by an astounding 62 per cent and of stroke by 48 per cent.
The polypill can't be released yet as more tests have to be performed with regards to its safety. But this may just prove to be a small hurdle, given that the individual drugs that form the pill have already been approved some time ago.
I personally hope to see this polypill on shelves soon. How would our lives be changed when we substantially negate our risk of getting heart disease and stroke? We may not know yet, but what is clear is that our lives will certainly be improved. No matter which way you look at it, that's always a good thing.
References:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5078442/
Polypill-that-cuts-risk-of-heart-disease-and-stroke-could-save
-thousands-of-lives-a-year.html
http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/statistics.aspx?id=5526
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