An all-in-one "polypill" containing a cocktail of potentially life-saving drugs could halve rates of heart attacks and strokes in healthy middle aged and older people, a major trial has found.
The research in India involved more than 2,000 people aged 45 to 80 and was the most comprehensive study yet of the controversial "magic bullet" pill.
Scientists compared Polycap, a five-drug polypill, with combinations of its different components to assess effectiveness and safety.
They concluded that if the pill was given to a population of healthy adults with at least one risk factor, such as raised blood pressure, obesity or smoking, it could slash the number of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events by half.
Although the researchers did not look at death rates, an effect of this size could result in thousands of saved British lives.
Each year almost 200,000 Britons are killed by heart and artery disease. A fifth of all deaths before the age of 75 in men and 10% of those in women are due to cardiovascular disease.
Since the study looked at a relatively low risk population, it suggests that the polypill might have a significantly bigger impact in practice. Another important finding was that the pill was well tolerated and caused no unpleasant side effects.
Polycap contains a cholesterol-lowering statin, aspirin to combat clotting, and three blood pressure-lowering drugs.
Professor Malcolm Law, from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, said: "We have long advocated the polypill as a safe and effective way of greatly reducing the incidence of heart attacks and strokes in the population.
"This study shows that it's possible to make such a product that is effective and doesn't have adverse side effects."
