The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially endorsed the use of polypills—fixed combinations of multiple medicines contained in a single pill—for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, adding them to the latest edition of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.
Originally launched back in 1977, the Model List of Essential Medicines is a resource used by physicians all over the world to make treatment decisions. The 2023 edition includes a total of 502 different medications. Polypills are included for the first time, and WHO noted in a statement that “scientists from multiple countries conducted milestone trials confirming the benefit of these combinations for both the primary and secondary prevention of heart disease.”
World Heart Federation comments on WHO’s decision to endorse polypills for CVD
The World Heart Federation (WHF) shared its support of the WHO endorsement, highlighting the work its members have done to help make this moment a reality. The group hosted a global forum on fixed-dose combinations in 2022, for example, and personally worked with WHO representatives to get polypills included in the Model List of Essential Medicines.
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, president of Mount Sinai Heart in New York City and one of the world’s most prominent cardiologists, has been a leader in polypill research in recent years. He played a key role in the SECURE randomized controlled trial, for instance, which found that a polypill strategy can reduce the risk of mortality and other adverse events following a myocardial infarction.[1] In that study, the polypill contained aspirin (100 mg), ramipril (2.5, 5 or 10 mgs), and atorvastatin (40 mgs), for prevention of hearts attacks and managing atherosclerosis and hypertension.
A former WHF president, Fuster shared his feelings about the WHO endorsement in a prepared statement.
“Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated that the use of the polypill is a widely applicable strategy to improve accessibility and adherence to treatment for cardiovascular disease, thus decreasing the risk of recurrent disease and death,” he said. “It is now our responsibility to ensure these treatments are widely available and used by the medical community.”
“This has the potential to revolutionize the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease worldwide,” Salim Yusuf, MD, BS, DPhil, professor emeritus of medicine at McMaster University and another former WHF president, added in the same statement. “By combining multiple effective medications in a single formulation, polypills offer a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to tackle cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death globally.”
Yusuf is one of two cardiologists who wrote an editorial for The Lancet in 2022 pushing for polypills to be used more throughout the world to help limit the impact of cardiovascular disease.[2] The editorial specifically recommended WHO add polypills to the Model List of Essential Medicines.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.