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Ask the Experts about Choosing Your Meds
Abacavir and heart attacks
Mar 5, 2008
Hi Dr.: I've been on meds for 12 years. I've never been detectable, although I was a little over 100K before starting treatment. I'm now on Sustiva and Epzicom.
I'm 55 and my Framington risk is 8. Should I consider switching from Abacavir to something else? I don't understand %s. I read that ABV increases the risk of a heart attack by 90%, but with a Framington score of 8, I don't know what my 10 years risk is while taking ABV?
My CD4 count has always bounced between 600-900. It was over 600 when I was diagnosed. Should I switch OR should I consider stopping all meds and just monitor my progress? Thanks so much.
Response from Dr. Young
Thanks for your post.
A Framingham score of 8, means that you have a 8% chance risk of having a heart attack within the next ten years. The data from the recent DAD study suggests that this risk may increase to about 16% if one is currently taking abacavir. Taken another way, this means that you have a 84% chance of not having heart disease in the next 10 years.
Like Dr. Wohl, I take the data from this single study very cautiously-- First off, I would not recommend stopping therapy in your situation. This has been shown to actually increase your risk of developing complications, including heart disease events. If you're tolerating your current Epzicom/Sustiva regimen, I'd see no reason to switch. Rather, your question says that you're interested in reducing your long-term health risks. This means to me that this is a good opportunity to critically think about smoking, diet, exercise and vaccinations, to name a few.
I hope this helps.
BY
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