Combined Therapy Good for the Heart

Source: South China Morning Post

Combined therapy for hypertension and high cholesterol can considerably reduce the risk of heart disease, a study has found.

The two-year study, which assessed the effectiveness of combined therapy for these risk factors, involved more than 1,600 patients in 27 countries and regions. The study involved 101 Hong Kong patients.

The University of Hong Kong found study patients had an average 15.4 per cent risk of developing heart disease.

Health department statistics showed 8 per cent of people over 15 in Hong Kong had high cholesterol, while 27 per cent had hypertension.

Patients in the study had to take one pill and were observed for 14 weeks. University researchers found a mean 58 per cent in Hong Kong had reduced their risk of developing heart disease by using a combined pill to treat hypertension and high blood cholesterol.

It was the biggest reduction of all the regions and countries in Asia.

HKU professor Tse Hung-fat said combined therapy was effective because patients who took one pill were more inclined to adhere to their treatment than those taking separate pills for both risk factors.

Editor: Jessie Hwang