Study To Evaluate Physicians’ Care Of HIV/AIDS Patients’ Cardiovascular Conditions
A study being conducted at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing by Jason Farley, an assistant professor, will evaluate physicians‘ ability to prevent cardiovascular conditions in HIV/AIDS patients.
For his study, Farley plans to evaluate physicians based on their counseling sessions with HIV/AIDS patients, specifically looking at the health advice patients receive regarding diet, exercise, and smoking.
“The question of the study is: How good are we at preventing cardiovascular conditions when we have another life-threatening condition we’re paying attention to?” Farley explained in The John Hopkins University Gazette.
Farley’s study also will observe and measure how physicians are able to monitor and treat conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
Both can cause or affect existing cardiovascular conditions.
The study will be conducted over a three-year period on 700 Baltimore patients with HIV/AIDS.
Cardiovascular conditions are very common and an increasing cause of mortality in HIV/AIDS patients.
Prior studies have shown that certain antiretroviral (ART) medications can put patients at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular conditions.
One medication raising the risk of cardiovascular complications for HIV-positive patients is Ziagen (abacavir).
Patients taking Ziagen were found to have an increased risk of developing heart problems, such as heart attacks (see related AIDS Beacon news).
In December 2009, the Food and Drug Administration and GlaxoSmithKline released warnings for Lexiva (fosamprenavir), stating that an increased risk of dyslipidemia (elevated cholesterol and lipid levels) and heart attack could result from the medication (see related AIDS Beacon news).
Researchers have also found an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions for patients not on ART medications (see related AIDS Beacon news).
In the study at Johns Hopkins, an automated tracking method called ASPIRE (Automated System to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease in HIV CaRE Settings) will evaluate the physician’s screening of the patient, counseling, and overall compliance with American Heart Association guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
With the high number of cardiovascular conditions in HIV/AIDS patients, the results of this study could be an important factor in changing the treatment that physicians provide to help patients fight cardiovascular disease.
For more information, please see The Johns Hopkins University Gazette article.
Related Articles:
- Study Says Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease Is Equal For AIDS Patients And Diabetics
- GlaxoSmithKline Warns Of Heart Attack Risk With Anti-HIV Drug Lexiva
- Scientists Find That All HIV Patients Experience Increased Risk Of Heart Disease
- Researchers Show AIDS Patients Treated With Ziagen Are At Higher Risk Of Heart Problems
- Studies On Relationship Between HIV And Aging Show Mixed Results (AIDS 2010)
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