Researchers from the Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases (Spain) have shown that tablets containing a combination of the three substances reduce the frequency of relapses in patients after myocardial infarction. Article published New England Journal of Medicine.
The doctors included in the SECURE study included 2499 patients recovering from a heart attack from seven European countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Poland and Hungary). Study participants were randomly assigned to take standard therapy or 3-in-1 tablets containing aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin. The mean age of the participants was 76, 31% were female, 77.9% had hypertension, 57.4% had diabetes and 51.3% were addicted to nicotine. Patients were followed for three years after the start of treatment.
Patients taking the 3-in-1 pill had a 24% lower risk of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or coronary artery blood flow obstruction than patients taking the three separate drugs.
The most important result of the study was a 33% reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases. There were 71 deaths in the standard treatment group and 48 deaths in the 3-in-1 pill group.
Standard treatment for patients after myocardial infarction includes three different drugs: an antiplatelet drug (for example, aspirin), ramipril or a similar drug that controls blood pressure, and drugs that lower cholesterol. However, less than 50% of patients adhere to the prescribed drug regimen, which reduces the effectiveness of the treatment. The combination of three active substances in one tablet simplifies treatment for patients.