Studies have shown that individuals with HIV are 50–100 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (including heart attack and stroke) than individuals without HIV; however, more research is needed to determine if use of statins is the answer.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is now funding the largest cardiac prevention trial in HIV, called REPRIEVE, a Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV.

This landmark study is the first large-scale randomized clinical trial to test a strategy for heart disease prevention among people living with HIV.  The REPRIEVE Clinical Trial is evaluating whether a daily dose of pitavastatin, a statin used to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, lowers the risk of heart-related disease among people living with HIV.

The REPRIEVE trial will include 6,500 participants and will be conducted at approximately 100 clinical research sites, primarily in the United States. The trial will be conducted through the AIDS Clinical Trials Network, as well as other NIAID sites and established clinical research sites. REPRIEVE scientists including Dr. Steven Grinspoon (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Pamela Douglas (Duke University School of Medicine), Dr. Udo Hoffmann (Harvard Medical School) and Dr. Heather Ribaudo (Harvard School of Public Health) are internationally recognized experts in the fields of HIV medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, radiology and biostatistics.

“An ideal intervention to prevent cardiovascular disease in HIV would affect both conventional lipid and HIV specific immune mediators of cardiovascular disease and would have minimal risk,” according to Dr. Grinspoon. “Statin therapy uniquely meets these criteria.”

For more information on the trial go to reprievetrial.org