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MEXICO;Abacavir studies disagree on heart attack risk
Earlier this year results of a large HIV cohort study stunned HIV doctors and patients with evidence that the nucleoside analogues abacavir and ddI independently raise the risk of heart attacks.
Researchers from GlaxoSmithKline, abacavir's manufacturer analysed data from 5044 patients in 54 clinical trials and found no heart attack difference between those who took abacavir and those who did not.
However, scrutiny of results of the SMART trial, (which looked at intermittent versus continuous therapy) confirmed the findings of the earlier cohort study, finding a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in people taking abacavir than in those taking other nucleosides.
The SMART analysis suggests that abacavir may heighten the risk of heart disease by causing vascular inflammation.
People taking abacavir who have pre-existing risk factors for heart disease- male gender, smoking, family history, elevated blood fats such as cholesterol, should discuss their situation with their clinician.
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