Question

Is my doctor right about new guidelines to use a statin?

10 April 2024. Related: All topics, Complications and coinfections, Living with HIV long-term, Research.

Answer

Thank for your question and for letting us post this online.

It good that you are doing well and that your doctor is reviewing your meds and giving you an option to use the two-drug combination Dovato. Several studies have show this switch should keep your viral load undetectable while using one less drug in your combination,

The recent statin study is called REPRIEVE and results were first released last April and then reported in full in August. This showed that people who were not at high enough risk to be prescribed as statin had fewer serious heart-related complications from taking a daily statin compared to those who took a placebo.

This led the British HIV Association to produce new guidelines for wider use of statins in people living with HIV who are older than 40. US guidelines published last month also made similar recommendations.

This guidelines also say that doctors should discuss the risks of heart disease individually with people living with HIV. This discussion can also include other ways to reduce any risk and the potential individual benefits.

So even though your doctor is giving good infomration about new guidelines, it is still up to you to decide if this is something you want to do,

The links below are to the relevant sudy results and guidelines

REPRIEVE first report
https://i-base.info/htb/45288

REPRIEVE full report
https://i-base.info/htb/45808

UK BHIVA guidelines
https://i-base.info/htb/46628

US guidelines
https://i-base.info/htb/47227