Healthcare News

New polypill could dramatically reduce strokes
07/05/2008
A new five-in-one medication could lower the risk of strokes, according to its maker.

A new medication could prevent 80 per cent of the heart attacks suffered by over-55s it has emerged.

The polypill, which could be available in as little as five years, is a five-in-one medication which contains a cholesterol lowering stain, three blood pressure treatments and a folic acid, reports the Daily Mail.

It is thought that it could prevent four-fifths of heart attacks and strokes.

Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medication, the drug manufacturer behind the innovative pill, is hoping get the cost of the medication down to £1 per day.

Professor Nicholas Wald, the institute's director, told the newspaper: "Our mission is to make it available to everyone over 55 at an affordable price."

The institute is currently working on obtaining the necessary license and holding clinical trials, it will then have to get approval from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

According to the Stroke Association, some 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke each year.