AIDS Drugs Linked to Heart Attack Risk

By Admin on April 02, 2008 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Use of the popular AIDS drugs Ziagen and Videx appears to dramatically increase the risk of heart attack, according to a study published in the UK medical journal The Lancet. The study finds that nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as Ziagen (abacavir) and the antiretroviral drug Videx (didanosine) -- both commonly used as part of AIDS treatment regimens -- were found to be linked to an increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that heart attack risk seemed to be reversible once Ziagen or Videx treatment was stopped, and the agency will work with the drugs' manufacturers to evaluate the risks and benefits of using these drugs as part of an HIV treatment program.

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