Heart attacks and strokes are among the leading causes of death globally, with millions suffering from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) every year. There are more than seven million people in the UK alone, with about 100,000 patients experiencing heart attacks annually. However, a group of researchers at University College London (UCL) estimate that one 'polypill' taken daily day could eliminate a majority of these cases dramatically lowering death tolls.

The proposed polypill, a combination of a statin and three blood pressure-lowering drugs, has been under study for over two decades. Experts argue that introducing this pill universally for individuals aged 50 and above could be more effective than the current NHS Health Check, which assesses risk factors every five years for those aged between 40 and 74.

Studies have repeatedly proven the effectiveness of the polypill in preventing CVD. A groundbreaking 2019 study in The Lancet found that five years' use of the polypill cut the risk of heart attack and stroke by a third. In addition, previous modelling analyses have estimated that if given universally to people over 55, the polypill might be able to prevent 80% of heart attacks and strokes.

Today, the NHS Health Check follows a risk-based model in which patients are tested for CVD risk factors and treated with drugs accordingly. Yet, as per UCL's study, this system has serious flaws:

Low Uptake: Just 40% of those eligible for the NHS Health Check choose to have it, leaving a considerable number of at-risk patients undiagnosed and untreated.

Ineffective Prediction of Risk: The majority of heart attacks and strokes happen to people at average risk levels, thus making it challenging to identify the need for intervention effectively.

Limited Effectiveness: Even at maximum take-up, the NHS Health Check programme is predicted to have fewer health impacts compared to a polypill initiative applied to the whole population.

Simplicity and Affordability of the Polypill Strategy

One of the big benefits of the polypill is that it is so easy. In contrast to the existing screening-based model, the polypill scheme would not involve complicated medical tests or lengthy risk assessments. Instead, people reaching 50 would just have to fill out a few questions to determine possible side effects before they were prescribed.

Professor Aroon Hingorani of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science, one of the strongest proponents of this scheme, says:

"Finally, the time is now to do much better on prevention. A population approach would prevent a lot more heart attacks and strokes than is done today with a strategy of trying to target a smaller group only."

Aside from the possible health implications, the polypill is also an economic solution. The drugs used are off-patent, thus cheap to produce and distribute. With the vast economic cost of managing CVD-related illnesses, a preventive model could result in substantial cost-saving for the NHS in the future.

The polypill has been proven to be effective by numerous international trials. In 2019, a randomised trial in rural Iran discovered that participants who took the polypill for five years had a 34% reduced risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to non-participants.

Likewise, modelling research has indicated that even if only 8% of people aged over 50 took up the polypill regimen, it would still be more beneficial to their health than the NHS Health Check programme.

Is This a Case of Over-Medicalisation?

One of the main objections to the polypill strategy is the suggestion that it might result in the unnecessary medicalisation of a significant proportion of the population. But, it is argued, it should be considered as a preventative measure, not as mass medication.

Professor Sir Nicholas Wald of UCL's Institute of Health Informatics explains:

"Instead of being a 'medicalisation' of a significant proportion of the population, a polypill programme is a prevention measure to prevent an individual from becoming a patient."

He compares it with public health measures like water fluoridation or compulsory seatbelts—interventions that have been shown to have a significant impact in reducing public health danger at low individual cost.

With the evidence in favour of the polypill's effectiveness and viability overwhelming, experts are calling on the NHS to act now. It is their belief that substituting the NHS Health Check with a polypill-based prevention program could be the UK government's flagship policy under its pledge to put disease prevention ahead of cure.

As Professor Hingorani points out, "The status quo is not a justifiable option." With CVD still a major cause of death globally, taking a population-wide polypill approach could be a turning point for preventative medicine, potentially saving thousands of lives annually. The question now is whether the NHS will take up this call and establish a policy with the potential to transform the prevention of cardiovascular disease on a national level.

India has successfully linked the health records of more than 100 crore people with Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said today.

Implemented by the National Health Authority, the milestone marks a major step towards building an integrated, citizen-centric, and interoperable digital healthcare ecosystem in the country.

“The linking of over 100 crore health records with ABHA is an important milestone in the journey of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. ABHA-linked health records empower citizens with secure and consent-based access to their health information and support continuity of care across the healthcare ecosystem,” said Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, NHA.

The Growing Adoption Of ABDM

According to the Ministry, more than 450 public and private health technology solutions have integrated with the ABDM ecosystem, enabling digitisation and seamless exchange of health records across healthcare facilities.

The ministry said ABDM doubled the number of linked health records from 50 crore in February 2025 to over 100 crore in just 15 months.

Nearly 10 crore health records are now being linked every two to three months. From fewer than 1,000 linked records during its initial phase to over 100 crore today, ABDM has evolved into one of the world’s largest digital health ecosystems.

Uttar Pradesh emerged as the leading contributor with over 15.03 crore ABHA-linked health records, followed by Andhra Pradesh with over 11.95 crore linked records.

Bihar, Rajasthan, and Gujarat also recorded major progress by linking over 7.37 crore, 6.32 crore, and 4.77 crore health records, respectively.

Also read: Preeclampsia Is Preventable & Treatable. Yet It’s India’s 3rd Leading Cause Of Maternal Deaths, Says AIIMS doctor

Programs Contributing To The Milestone

Among the major government programs and digital platforms contributing to the milestone are:

• Non-Communicable Disease Program
• CoWIN
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
• Uttar Pradesh government’s eKavach platform
• Andhra Pradesh health programs
• Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) program
• eHospital by National Informatics Centre
• eSushrut by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
• Gujarat government’s TeCHO platform
• Rajasthan government’s iHMS platform

Private health technology partners and ABDM-enabled digital solutions have also contributed significantly towards the creation and linkage of ABHA-linked health records.

What Is ABHA?

ABHA is a unique digital health identity that allows citizens to securely link and access their health records across hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and healthcare providers.

Through ABDM’s consent-based health information exchange mechanism, citizens can digitally share their medical records with registered healthcare providers while maintaining the privacy and security of personal health information.

“ABDM is designed to place citizens at the center of the digital health ecosystem. With consent-based sharing of health records, individuals can access their medical information whenever required and share relevant records with healthcare providers digitally. This will help make healthcare delivery more accessible, efficient, and patient-centric,” Barnwal said.

Key Digital Building Blocks Of ABDM

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is creating the digital public infrastructure required for an interoperable healthcare ecosystem through key digital building blocks such as:

• Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA)
• Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)
• Health Facility Registry (HFR)
• Health Information Exchange and Consent Manager (HIE-CM)
• Unified Health Interface (UHI)
• National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX)

With over 100 crore health records now linked with ABHA, ABDM has marked another milestone towards creating longitudinal digital health records for citizens and enabling a more connected, paperless, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare ecosystem in the country.

Amid the rising cases of Ebola virus infection in nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan, the whole world has gone to an alert mode. The state government of Kerala has declared that it will keep the visitors from the countries flagged by the World Health Organization (WHO) under mandatory health surveillance for up to 21 days after arrival.

The government of India has already issued an advisory on this important issue. In accordance with the direction, the state government of Kerala has also taken some strict steps to protect the general public from this infectious virus. On Thursday, at the meeting of the State Rapid Response Team, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said the measure was being adopted as an additional precaution.

The Union Health Ministry has also propagated a stricter stance on preventing the virus outbreak in the country. The ministry emphasizes its stance by issuing orders to strictly follow the special health guidelines.

As per the new norms, the travelers from Ebola-affected nations are asked to report to the health authorities at the airport if they feel symptoms commonly associated with Ebola, like fever, headache, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain, sore throat, or bleeding. Those who had any contact with confirmed or suspected Ebola patients have also been informed by the health authorities.

The state government has made screening of passengers stricter in the international airports and seaports.

In addition to that, the authorities have also searched isolation wards and intensive care facilities throughout the state to find those who require treatment or observation.

The health minister of the state ordered ample training of healthcare personnel in infection prevention and control. There is also emphasis on the use of PPE kits, proper treatment protocols, and critical care management.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is a severe and, in most cases, deadly disease caused by viruses predominantly found in Africa. The spread of the disease happens through contact with infected body fluids.

Some symptoms can indicate a possible infection. This includes fever, weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, and unexplained bleeding. This eventually leads to severe complications like bleeding, organ failure, and death. The hosts of the virus are animals like bats, primates, and antelopes.

WHO Says Vaccine Could Take Months

Meanwhile, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Chief said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic”. He noted that the numbers are expected to rise given the time taken to detect the virus.

The WHO says it could take up to nine months before a vaccine against this particular species of Ebola is ready.

Two possible "candidate vaccines" against the Bundibugyo species are being developed, but neither has gone through clinical trials yet, WHO advisor Dr. Vasee Moorthy said, according to the BBC.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Tedros said 51 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo — where the first case was reported — and two in neighboring Uganda.

Mental disorders are on the rise worldwide, and nearly 1.2 billion lives are now affected by them. A recent study published in The Lancet has revealed this very crucial trend. The study was conducted by researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with the University of Queensland.

This study shows that the number of people affected by the mental disorder has almost doubled since 1990. It also emphasizes the role of mental disorder in the case of disability, as the research suggests that it has crossed cardiovascular disease, cancer, and musculoskeletal conditions, leading to disability. Notably, the study has revealed that mental disorders affect people of different sexes and ages disproportionately.

The research was done on a massive scale from 1990 to 2023. The researchers studied the impact of mental disorder on both sexes, in 25 age groups, 21 regions, and 204 countries and territories.

How Mental Disorders Are Impacting Life Worldwide?

Over the years, mental disorders have caused more and more mayhem in people's lives. Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) show the very impact of mental disorders on life. DALYs measure the health loss. It calculates the years lived with disability and years of life lost due to premature death.

According to this very measuring system, we can see that the mental disorder and its impact on overall life reached another zenith in 2023. That year, mental disorders alone caused 171 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs). This made mental disorder the fifth biggest contributor to total disease burden. Notably, in 2023, mental disorders had a 17 percent share of total life lost due to disability throughout the world.

Who Is More Impacted By Mental Disorders?

The mental disorder affects people of both sexes at all stages of life, but the impact can differ massively with age.

• Early childhood can also be filled with different mental disorders, as this age group mainly faces problems like autism spectrum disorder, conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and idiopathic developmental intellectual disability. Notably, at this stage, the boys are more affected by the disease burden compared to girls. These conditions can cause more trouble in adolescence.

• The most impacted age group is 15 to 19 years old. This developmental stage of life faces the worst hit of mental burden, which impacts their future life and career immensely.

• Another crucial finding was that in the year 2023, the number of women impacted by mental disorders exceeded that of men by a large margin. The research shows that 620 million women were living with any kind of mental disorder, while the number of men with the same burden stayed at the 552 million mark. DALYs also shows a similar result, where women lost 92.6 million while men lost 78.6 million.