wald and law had first proposed using a combination of well-known and inexpensive medications in one pill for protection against cardiovascular disease. they presented a statistical model which suggested widespread use of such a polypill could reduce mortality due to heart disease and strokes by up to 80%, while the drugs and their respective interactions are already fairly well known and understood due to many years of being prescribed together (via separate pills). they proposed combining six medications already established in treating cardiovascular disease and associated conditions, providing these in a single pill to people in western countries aged 55 years or more as a preventive measure (albeit in lower doses than when used for treatment).