The daily super pill all men over 50 should take to avoid heart attacks
All men over 50 should take a "polypill" to cut heart attacks and strokes, says the Government's leading cardiac expert. It would contain a cholesterol-busting statin, aspirin and drugs to cut blood pressure.
Women would be medicated slightly later in life, as their hormones protect against heart disease until menopause. Although a polypill is yet to come on the market, one is being tested in New Zealand which would cost no more than £1 a day.
Professor Boyle, who takes statins himself, said: "Although we have seen a decrease in death rates, heart disease remains our country's biggest killer. It kills more than all the cancers put together. The short cut to all this is to say that when you are a man of 50, you need treatment."
Doctors estimate that mass-medication with such a pill could slash the rate of heart attacks and strokes by 80 per cent. However, critics of mass medication say it turns essentially-healthy people into patients. There are also worries that overreliance on pills would lead them to neglect other aspects of their health, such as exercise and diet.
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