- With Mayo Clinic cardiologist
Martha Grogan, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Martha Grogan, M.D.
Martha Grogan, M.D.
Dr. Martha Grogan is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases. She is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and received her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School. Dr. Grogan has been on staff at Mayo Clinic since 1995 and is a consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and is an assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Medical School.
Dr. Grogan is a noninvasive cardiologist specializing in heart failure, adult congenital heart disease and echocardiography. She has witnessed firsthand the importance of patient education in the treatment of diseases such as congestive heart failure and is excited about the tremendous educational opportunities now available through the Internet.
Risk factors (2)
- Silent heart attack: What are the risks?
- Calcium supplements: A risk factor for heart attack?
Symptoms (1)
- Trouble breathing: Could it be asthma?
Causes (2)
- Omega-6 fatty acids: Can they cause heart disease?
- Vitamin D deficiency: Can it cause high blood pressure?
Treatments and drugs (2)
- Polypill: Does it treat heart disease?
- Coronary artery disease: Angioplasty or bypass surgery?
Lifestyle and home remedies (5)
- Grass-fed beef: What are the heart-health benefits?
- Healthy chocolate — Dream or reality?
- Air pollution and exercise: Is outdoor exercise risky?
- see all in Lifestyle and home remedies
Prevention (8)
- Healthy heart for life: Avoiding heart disease
- Fasting diet: Can it improve my heart health?
- Can vitamins help prevent a heart attack?
- see all in Prevention
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Question
Polypill: Does it treat heart disease?
What is the polypill? Can it prevent or treat heart disease?
Answer
from Martha Grogan, M.D.
The term "polypill" describes a pill that's a combination of several medications commonly used to treat heart disease and high blood pressure. Doctors aren't sure what exact combination of medications should be included in a polypill. It's thought that low doses of each of these medications could be effective:
- Aspirin
- Water pills (diuretics)
- Cholesterol-lowering medications (statins)
- Medications to make your heart beat with less force (beta blockers)
- Medications to help keep your blood vessels open (ACE inhibitors)
The polypill is still being studied, and isn't available for sale yet in the United States. Who should take the polypill is a controversial issue. Doctors are still trying to see if the polypill should be given as a preventive measure to people who haven't had a heart attack or stroke, or as a treatment option for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke.
Next questionCoronary artery disease: Angioplasty or bypass surgery?
- The Indian Polycap Study (TIPS). Effects of a polypill (Polycap) on risk factors in middle-aged individuals without cardiovascular disease (TIPS): A phase II, double-blind, randomised trial. The Lancet. 2009;373:1341.
- Wald NJ, et al. The polypill concept. Heart. 2010;96:1.
- Furster V. Prime time for a polypill after myocardial infarction? Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine. 2009;6:83.
- Wald DS, et al. The polypill in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology. 2010;24:29.
Find Mayo Clinic on