New NIH Study to Tackle Cardiovascular Heart Disease in HIV-infected Individuals

If you are HIV positive and on antiretroviral therapy (ART), are you doing all you can to maintain and improve your health? While early diagnosis of HIV infection and use of combination ART has significantly reduced AIDS-related mortality and morbidity in the U.S., it does not completely return you to your pre-infection health status. For instance, studies have shown that HIV-infected individuals are at a higher risk (1.5-2 times) of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). This higher risk may be linked to the consequences of the chronic immune activation and inflammation that persist in HIV-infected individuals on ART and which may contribute to metabolic disorders, such as lipodystrophy, atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is conducting a new study called REPRIEVE (A5332). A complete listing of the clinical trial’s sites and contact information can be found here: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/nih-launches-largest-clinical-trial-focused-hiv-related-cardiovascular-disease.