Antiretroviral Drugs and Risk for MI in HIV-Infected Patients

In addition to confirming duration of combination therapy as a risk factor, the DAD Study Group implicated protease inhibitors specifically.

Combination antiretroviral therapy reduces morbidity and mortality among patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, but it is associated with increased risk for MI. Investigators from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (DAD) Study Group, which initially reported the association, now have analyzed 3 years’ worth of follow-up data to determine whether the increase in risk is specific to certain antiretroviral drug classes.

The study cohort consisted of 23,437 patients (median age at enrollment, 39; median follow-up duration, 4.5 years), of whom 345 experienced a fatal or nonfatal MI. Longer exposure to combination antiretroviral therapy was associated with a significantly higher risk for MI. After adjustment …

Reviewing Author

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM