A single pill containing low doses of three medications to treat high blood pressure and one to lower cholesterol reduced the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease by 25% in a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

“Polypills” for prevention of cardiovascular disease have previously been studied in low- and middle-income countries where other health care barriers exist, according to senior author Thomas Wang, MD, chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

But the US study released today of mostly low income, primarily black adults from a community health center in Mobile, AL, sets up a conversation about how to extend these findings to other settings.

“The pill may address some of the barriers that contribute to disparities in health based on geography, socioeconomic class and other parameters that we know have existed in this country and other countries for a while now,” Wang said. “Despite advances in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, it remains the No. 1 global killer of both men and women.”