title: Statins to improve cardiovascular outcomes in treated HIV infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate evidence that statins reduce cardiovascular risk in patients living with HIV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moderate to high-dose atorvastatin and rosuvastatin appear to reduce noncalcified coronary plaque volume and slow progression of carotid intima-media thickness in patients with treated HIV infection. Expected lipoprotein changes with statins on the background of modern antiretroviral therapy are similar to the general population. In addition to lipids, the statin benefit may be mediated in part by improvements in vascular inflammation and levels of T-cell and monocyte activation. One concern is the potential for rosuvastatin to cause insulin resistance. Decisions to prescribe statins must be done in the context of global risk assessment, but traditional risk calculators such as the Framingham Risk Score or the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association pooled-risk equations underestimate risk in this population. Furthermore, many patients with subclinical disease would not be recommended for statins according to the most recent American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Statins are likely to improve cardiovascular outcomes for patients with HIV, but results of the first outcome study are not expected until 2020. In the meantime, clinicians should individualize statin prescriptions, and should consider using more potent statins (rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, and pitavastatin) when possible.
authors.affiliation: aUniversity Hospitals Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute bCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio cMedical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina dUniversity Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Chris T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Longenecker
authors.forename: Allison R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Eckard
authors.forename: Grace A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: McComsey
mesh_terms: D000069059:Atorvastatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D057285:Precision Medicine; D011322:Primary Prevention; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium; D000069059:Atorvastatin