New Study Says AIDS Drug Nearly Doubles Heart Attack Risk

London, England (AHN) - A popular anti-HIV drug, Abacavir, appears to dramatically increase the risk of heart attack, a new study says. The anti-retroviral drug is used in many anti-AIDS regimens worldwide but Danish researchers have found that it almost doubled patients' chances of heart problems.

In a study published online Tuesday in The Lancet medical journal, European researchers said patients may wish to consider changing treatment programs after studying more than 33,000 patients using the drug. The lesser-used drug didanosine also increased the heart attack risk by about 50 percent.

Although the experts said that doctors should be aware of the increased heart attack risk, they did not recommend that patients abandon the drugs as benefits of the drug may still outweigh risks.

Jens D. Lundgren of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues analyzed data from more than 33,000 people with HIV in Europe, the United States and Australia. Patients were enrolled in the study from 1999 to 2005. Researchers looked for any heart problems that occurred until February 2007.

In the 517 patients who had heart attacks, 124 had recently taken didanosine and 192 had recently taken Abacavir.

Patients on Abacavir had twice the chances of a heart attack compared to patients on other anti-retrovirals. Those on Videx had a 50 percent higher chance. The risk disappeared six months after patients stopped taking the drugs.

Abacavir, also known as Ziagen, is made by GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Didanosine, or Videx, is made by Bristol-Meyers Squibb. Both the drugs are currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for people with HIV.