Photo Credit: Hanna Sova

Nurse-led management can lower cardiovascular risk factors among individuals with HIV receiving ART, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Christopher T. Longenecker, MD, and colleagues assessed whether a multicomponent nurse-led strategy could improve systolic BP (SBP) and non-HDL cholesterol in a diverse population of 297 people with HIV who received ART. At 12 months, participants randomly assigned to the nurse intervention had a clinically significant 4.2 mm Hg lower SBP and a 16.9 mg/dL lower non-HDL cholesterol level versus participants in the control arm. For women, there was a clinically meaningful but not statistically significant difference in SBP effect compared with men (4 months: 11.8 mm Hg greater difference; 8 months: 9.6 mm Hg; 12 months: 5.9 mm Hg). “Findings of this trial suggest that nurse-led cardiovascular risk factor management in academic HIV clinics may lead to fewer cardiovascular events and should inform implementation of prevention programs for people with HIV,” Dr. Longenecker and colleagues wrote.