Photo Credit: Piyaset

Despite the high degree of risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in patients with HIV, LDL-C levels in this patient group are poorly controlled and lipid-lowering therapy is underused, according to findings published in the International Journal of Cardiology. Researchers retrospectively evaluated the prevalence, treatment, and control of high LDL-C levels in patients with HIV aged 40 and older. Researchers determined the 10-year ASCVD risk based on age and comorbidities as recommended by guidelines. The study included 1,404 patients with HIV. Patients were predominately men (74.5%) and White (85.6%); the median age was 56. About a quarter of patients (21.0%) were at very high risk (VHR) for ASCVD, 45.2% were at high risk (HR), and 24.8% were not at risk. The overall median LDL-C level was 116 mg/dL (interquartile range, 96–141). Nearly half of the study population (46.3%) failed to achieve any step of the target LDL-C levels. Further, the researchers learned that only 37.0% of patients received lipid-lowering treatment.