- What You Need to Know About HIV
- HIV Treatment
- Handling the Side Effects of HIV Meds
- Talking about HIV
- HIV Meds and Heart Health
- HIV Meds and Heartburn
- HIV Meds and Lipids
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor
- Tips to Work With Your Healthcare Team
HIV Meds and Heart Health
[ Know Your Risks for Heart Disease] [ Taking Care of Your Heart ] [ Thinking About the Long Term ]
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Only you know what it’s like to live your life with HIV. Finding the balance between living with HIV and taking care of the rest of your health is a day-by-day journey. But as you live longer with HIV, there are other health issues that may need more of your attention. Lipids (fats that circulate in blood) and the risk of heart disease are issues for everyone as they age, but many people living with HIV are at greater risk because some HIV meds may add to the problem.
Know Your Risks for Heart Disease 1
More than one risk factor usually contributes to the risk for heart disease. Risks are complicated and can include social factors, health behaviors and some things you can’t control. Simply being a man and/or being African-American, Mexican-American, and/or Native American means you are at greater risk. And if living with HIV wasn’t stressful enough, the amount of stress in your life and how you personally respond to it may also increase your risk for heart disease.
Other risk factors can include:
- Unhealthy lipid levels
- High LDL cholesterol
- Low HDL cholesterol
- High triglycerides
- A family history of heart disease
- Increasing age
- Being overweight
- Smoking
- Drinking too much alcohol
- High blood pressure
- Having diabetes or insulin resistance
For Women Living With HIV: You may already know that heart disease is the number one cause of death for women living in the US.1 Your risk for heart disease (and other health problems) increases with age. Talk with your doctor about diseases that affect women more, including diseases with increased risk after menopause, and what you can do to protect your health as you get older.
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If you already know that you have unhealthy lipid levels or have other risks for heart disease, your doctor may prescribe lipid-lowering medicines and/or suggest changes in your diet and lifestyle. Here are some choices you can make to protect your heart health—even if you don’t have a cholesterol or triglyceride problem. 1
- Eat more fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and cereals
- Avoid oils and fats like butter, hard margarine, vegetable oils and fried foods
- Add more physical activity to your routine
- Get help to lose weight if you need to
- If you smoke, get the support you need to quit
- Limit how much alcohol you drink
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You are living with HIV and want to think about your long-term plans and goals and your long-term positive health. In addition to working with your doctor, there are other ways to get the help you may need.
- Join a local support group or call a help line for needed encouragement and advice when you decide to make a lifestyle change
- Team up with a friend who also wants to quit smoking, lose weight or eat healthier. A buddy system can help both of you if you set goals together and support each other along the way
- If eating healthier foods is difficult because they cost more or you have trouble getting food, please contact a local AIDS Service Organization or other community group that can connect you with a food pantry or other resource
Be kind to yourself. Lifestyle changes that benefit the heart can be difficult for anyone—and you are already living with the stress of managing your HIV. Working with your healthcare team to make a plan for your long-term health is the first step toward positive health.
Because you will not give in.
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This information does not include everything you may need to know about HIV and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider.
