What’s the Big Deal?
AIDS-related complications and deaths are declining, while heart disease among people with HIV is emerging as a major public health problem. This is happening despite effective treatment for HIV. People with HIV are 50 to 100% more likely to develop heart disease — this includes heart attack and stroke — compared with people who do not have HIV. Increased chronic inflammation related to HIV may be contributing to the increased risk of heart disease.
What’s Being Done about Heart Disease in HIV?
REPRIEVE, which stands for Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV, is the first large-scale randomized clinical research trial to test a strategy for heart disease prevention among people living with HIV. Specifically, REPRIEVE tested testing whether a daily dose of a statin (pitavastatin calcium) reduces the risk of heart disease among people with HIV. REPRIEVE found that taking pitavastatin reduces the risk of heart disease by 35% among this population and reduces the risk of heart disease or death from any cause by 21% compared to placebo.
What are Statin Medications?
In people without HIV, statin medications reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. In smaller studies among people with HIV, statins have also decreased inflammation; REPRIEVE was designed to confirm these findings in larger studies of people with HIV. Participants in REPRIEVE were randomized to receive pitavastatin calcium (Livalo) or a placebo pill. Pitavastatin calcium is a statin that is approved by the FDA, and based on prior studies and the results of REPRIEVE, pitavastatin calcium is generally safe for use with prescribed antiretroviral therapy regimens.
More Important Details About REPRIEVE
REPRIEVE enrolled over 7,500 people with HIV at over 100 clinical sites across 12 countries (click here to see a complete list of sites). The trial was conducted through the AIDS Clinical Trials Network and many other sites approved by the NIH Division of AIDS.
REPRIEVE enrolled the last participant in 2019, the last participant’s study visit occurred in 2023.
Who Funds REPRIEVE?
The REPRIEVE trial is funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, with significant support and collaboration from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) through its Division of AIDS. In addition, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., and ViiV Healthcare provide additional support.
This website, and related materials, applies only to REPRIEVE A5332. See list of participating sites here.