Source: MarketWire
People with HIV at up to 25 per cent higher risk for cardiovascular disease
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Nov. 14, 2007) - Two B.C.-based health research centres are embarking on a $1.2 million national study to examine how to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people living with HIV.
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (CfE) and the Providence Heart and Lung Institute, both housed at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, part of Providence Health Care, will be investigating how the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) interacts with essential anti-HIV medications and whether or not it successfully prevents hardening of the arteries. This is the first known study of its kind.
"As a result of the success of HIV treatments in preventing AIDS-related disease and death, HIV-infected persons have longer life expectancies, but they are beginning to see an increase in cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes," says Dr. Greg Bondy, the study's principal investigator and a researcher with the CfE. "This is not only an important study for HIV disease - it could also have much broader implications in the general population, particularly for those with metabolic disorders."
While it is not completely understood why people with HIV are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, a number of factors can be pointed to as the most likely causes. Antiretroviral drugs have been found to cause cholesterol levels to rise and researchers believe that HIV disease itself may put individuals at an increased risk. In addition, a high prevalence of smoking among this specific population is of particular concern. (...)
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