one of the first recommended roles of a polypill was as a means of providing recommended medications to people with heart disease, stroke and other forms of cardiovascular disease. most cardiovascular disease patients do not receive recommended medications long-term: the proportion of cardiovascular disease patients "not "receiving a statin, aspirin and blood pressure lowering medication long-term ranges from about 50% in high income countries to over 90% in low income countries. in 2001, a world health organisation and the wellcome trust meeting of experts to discuss interventions for non-communicable diseases noted “the use of a single pill could well encourage patients to adhere to treatment as well as seriously reduce the cost of the drugs” a programme of research was outlined, including stability and bio-availability testing followed by assessment of short-term effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, platelet aggregation, safety and side effects. in 2002, the world health organisation annual report outlined the substantial potential public health impact and cost-effectiveness of scaling up access to combination cardiovascular treatment and an editorial in "the lancet" noted that a four component combination pill would reduce cardiovascular risk by about 75% among people with vascular disease.