UMPIRE study

[ed34]

I received a letter this morning asking me to take part in a trial. A combo pill has been developed which is called the red heart pill, containing aspirin, ace inhibitor, beta blocker and statin. As much as it sounds like a great idea, and would cut costs dramatically, I have emailed them to ask a few questions because it really doesn't sound very practical. Or does it?
How many people are on the same dosage of beta blockers/ace inhibitors/statins ?  The brands they chose for the new pill are different from any that I am currently taking, so goodness knows what effect it would have. Maybe there will be thousands of different combinations of  the pill, with different dosages for each medication, but I doubt it. How else could they ensure people get what they require. My Doctor spent months getting my medication balanced and erradicating side effects, so I wonder if this new pill is asking for trouble.
Am I being too pessamistic? I was wondering what other members think.

[ed34]

Forgot to mention. Simvastatin was chosen because it is now off patent, and is therefore now a much cheaper statin drug compared to the newer stronger varieties such as lipitor (atorvastatin).

[ed34]

Had my chat with the Prof today. The polypill contains 40mg simvastatin which is not strong enough for me so I cannot be on the trial. The beta blocker dosage is also too strong. They do feel that a high proportion of patients should fall into the catagory of being able to have this pill. I did disagree because I suppose I find this a bit far fetched. I raised my concern that patients will just arrive at hospital, have this new pill administered, and anything could happen. He said that's what this trial is about, so my response obviously was "thank God I'm not on it then". I assume that as we age, we have to make sure our blood pressure doesn't increase. I assume we have to make sure we don't have any intervention surgery with the hope of coming off beta blockers.

[ed34]

yes I will certainly post his comments.

I just looked on the internet and found this....

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100518/UMPIRE-trial-of-Red-Heart-Pill-launched-to-combat-cardiovascular-problems.aspx

It appears the UK is not the only country interested in getting costs down.

[erijon]

That would be a tough decision. I do not have a history of CAD but I know how many attempts it took to get my BP and lipid meds right for me. I don't know if I would be comfortable with a one size fits all attitude. Please let us know what the Prof. tells you.

[ChatterAlly]

I would be interested in hearing how that call goes!  I looked into a study here in the states with Century Health.  They were looking for heart disease patients to be volunteers.  They would care for them for the next 5 years.  Everything supposedly taken care of by this study.  The point of this study is to prove the benefits of early diagnosis thorugh PET imaging.  They called me again last week.  I'm still considering doing this.

[ed34]

got an email today from some Prof. who will be phoning me next week to go over all the details.

[Flycaster305]

I would have your same concerns, Ed.  Comparing the diagnosis of CAD/CHF to a new suit of clothes, one size doesn't fit all, so to speak.

That being said, the combined medication sounds like an interesting pill for someone just diagnosed.  All the drugs mentioned are almost universally prescribed at the onset of symptoms.  As the beta blocker generally is bumped up until a tolerance level is determined, I wonder if the 'Red Heart Pill' would be manufactured with a varied dosage.
Keep us informed.