This is not the gold standard trial design—-controlled, randomized, the works.

That said, it is very useful and can lead to more studies which can explore the potential of this study.

What’s noteworthy is that the researchers tried,  more or less, one size fits all combination of medications to see how effective that could be.

Of course, there are caveats.

Maybe the results are what they are because patients followed their medication plan for the first time or better than before.

Maybe the results are what they are because these are patients already classified as high-risk. These are not “starter” cardiac patients, when changes may be subtle.

However, new ground has been broken with this study, which deserves attention for its simplicity, cost-effectiveness and, most important, clinical effectiveness.

Reuters

“High-risk patients who took a combination of three older heart drugs — a generic statin, a generic blood pressure pill and a low-dose aspirin — cut their risk of a heart attack or stroke by as much as 80 percent, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

“They said their study offers a simple, effective and inexpensive way to help people with diabetes or heart disease avoid heart attacks and strokes.

“Even in people who took it less than half the time, they got over a 60 percent drop in heart attacks and strokes,” said Dr. R. James Dudl of Kaiser Permanente in California, whose study was published in the American Journal of Managed Care.

“Those who took it more than half the time — they got more like an 80 percent drop,” Dudl said in a telephone interview.”

Source: Reuters, October 1, 2009

Citation: American Journal of Managed Care, Online Edition, October 1, 2009