At the recent Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC) National Congress in La Rural, Argentina, the global implementation of polypills for CVD prevention received endorsement from several leading cardiologists in the region.
“One of the polypills available in Argentina combines a very good statin, a converting enzyme inhibitor and a diuretic – the combination of which reduces patient’s’ risk of cardiovascular disease,” says Álvaro Sosa Liprandi, President of the Inter-American Society of Cardiology.
President-elect of the World Heart Federation (WHF) and Professor of Medicine, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, Daniel Piñeiro, says the objective during his administration will be “to focus on cardiovascular health – not the diseases – which implies working hard on primary prevention” including implementation of polypills.
Yusuf at SAC
In his lecture to hundreds of professionals at SAC congress October 20, PHRI Executive Director Salim Yusuf noted “if the polypill is used on a massive scale in the world, millions of premature deaths due to cardiovascular disease could be prevented… the combination of drugs to lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and, in some cases, add a diuretic and, in other cases, aspirin (with no significant differences in the effects of both combinations) could reduce the risk of CVD by almost 50%.”
Yusuf recommended the polypill be indicated to those individuals who have already had a previous cardiovascular event, people with high blood pressure and those over 55 years of age, both men and women. With hypertension, diabetes as risk factors, polypills can started from the age of 50.”
He added, “the polypill is already available in many countries of the world at low cost, including Argentina. Each region will have to adopt the distribution method that is most convenient according to its logistics so that it reaches a greater number of people.”
The polypill is effective for both primary and secondary prevention of CVD, according to a call-to-action commentary in The Lancet recently by Yusuf and current WHF president, Fausto Pinto.
For Spanish-language media coverage of Yusuf at the SAC National Congress, go to: GBAreporter article.
