The cardiovascular polypill as baseline treatment improves lipid profile and blood pressure regardless of body mass index in patients with cardiovascular disease. The Bacus study

Abstract

Background Pharmacological treatment with lipid-lowering and antihypertensive drugs has been proposed as a strategy to improve excess cardiovascular (CV) risk among obese individuals. The present study aimed to assess whether the CV polypill (Sincronium®) could be an effective strategy to help improve CV risk factor control in obese/overweight individuals requiring secondary prevention. Methods This was an observational, retrospective study reviewing the hospital medical records of 479 patients with established CV disease who initiated treatment with the CV polypill between 2013 and 2019 at a general hospital in Mexico. Patients were grouped as normal weight, overweight or obese according to their initial body mass index (BMI). We collected blood pressure (BP), lipid profile, and vascular age at the last visit recorded during the period following treatment. Results At the end of the study, all assessed lipid parameters improved compared to baseline regardless of the initial BMI category (all p<0.001). There was an increase from baseline regarding the proportion of patients with at target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol after treatment (2.3% vs. 30.1%; p<0.001), more than 80% of patients achieved triglyceride levels <200 mg/dL (p<0.001), and more than 80% achieved target BP levels in all BMI subgroups (p<0.001). The subanalyses in the elderly population yielded similar results, with a significant overall improvement in lipid and BP control after initiating the CV polypill strategy. Conclusions The use of the CV polypill as baseline therapy for secondary prevention seems to be a reasonable strategy that enhances CV risk factor control regardless of the patient’s BMI.