WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Carlos M. Ferrario, M.D., director of the Hypertension and Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, has been invited to chair an international committee created to reduce cardiovascular risk and disease.
“The committee will define the guidelines for the development of a polypill for the prevention of cardiovascular disease,” Ferrario said. A polypill is defined as medication that contains a number of active ingredients. For cardiovascular disease, a polypill could contain medications such as a diuretic, a beta-blocker, an ACE inhibitor, a statin and aspirin, all aimed at reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Taking one pill could reduce the cost of medications for the patient.
The Carso Institute of Health, a non-governmental organization that promotes public health solutions in Mexico and Latin America, and the National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico, created this commission of 15 cardiologists and investigators.
Ferrario, professor of surgical sciences, physiology and pharmacology, is the Dewitt Cordell Professor of Surgical Research. An internationally recognized center for the investigation of vascular disease and hypertension, the Hypertension and Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest Baptist provides comprehensive care for hypertension and vascular disease.
In 1994 the Center initiated an educational program to increase awareness of the higher volume of cardiovascular disease in the Southeast region of the United States that resulted in the creation of the Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control (COSEHC).
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Media Contacts: Ann Hopkins, ahopkins@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-1280, or Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu, or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, at (336) 716-4587.