Opinion: Cardiovascular disease is the next great challenge for HIV care
In This Article
- The average age of Americans with HIV has increased since 1987, and half of people with HIV are above age 50
- People with HIV have a higher amount of inflammation and immune system activity—which are associated with higher risk for heart disease
- Now, one of the leading causes of death among people with HIV is cardiovascular disease
- In this Op Ed, Dr. Steven Grinspoon highlights the need to better understand the mechanisms of HIV-related cardiovascular disease and develop effective treatments, and discusses new trials that may help reduce the burden of heart disease among those living with HIV
Before the approval of the first HIV drug in 1987, after diagnosis, most HIV-infected people only had a few years to live. Today, the average age of Americans with HIV has increased, and half of people with HIV are above the age of 50. These are welcomed advances because of effective treatments and decreased transmission rates.
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Because HIV patients are living longer, they see increases in other conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. People with HIV have a higher amount of inflammation and immune system activity—which are associated with higher risk for heart disease.
Now, one of the leading causes of death among people with HIV is cardiovascular disease. This population is twice as likely to have heart attacks or strokes (or develop other cardiovascular diseases) than the general population.
For over a decade, Steven K. Grinspoon, MD, director of the Program in Nutritional Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital, has been studying the connections between HIV and cardiovascular disease. In honor of World AIDS Day in December, he penned an Op Ed for STAT News that highlights the urgent need for research to better understand the mechanisms of HIV-related cardiovascular disease and develop effective treatments for them, and new trials that may help reduce the burden of heart disease among those living with HIV.
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