SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A well-known AIDS drug may double the risk of heart attack, European researchers said Wednesday.
A Danish study found Abacavir, an anti-AIDS cocktail component which the FDA calls a "preferred choice," could increase the possibility that long term HIV patients would have heart problem.
However, researchers caution Abacavir's heart attack risk was low to begin with.
"The effect that you see from things like smoking is significantly greater than the effect that we see from Abacavir. So people would do themselves much more benefit by exercising, by quitting smoking, by eating right, dealing with things like high cholesterol, high triglycerides, those things, than they would be by switching off of Abacavir," said Paul Dalton, Director of Treatment and Advocacy for San Francisco- based Project Inform, which works to better inform people about HIV/AIDS and its treatment
But Dalton also noted the study is important because people with HIV can expect to live long, normal lives which means taking these drugs for decades and it's important tot understand what long term side effects they may carry.
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KCBS' Holly Quan reports
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