AEGiS-GMHC: TREATMENT BRIEFS: Heart Failure in a Few ddC Patients

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

TREATMENT BRIEFS: Heart Failure in a Few ddC Patients

Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991

Hoffmann-La Roche, manufacturer of ddC, reports seven cases of heart inflammation or failure in patients enrolled in the ddC Expanded Access Program. ddC is an antiretroviral drug which has been taken by about 8,000 persons in clinical trials or through the ddC expanded access program.

Six of these seven patients died of heart failure. One patient who stopped taking ddC, is undergoing treatment for congestive heart failure. While such heart failure cannot be ascribed definitively to ddC, the drug cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor to the onset or worsening of heart problems in the seven patients.

Persons with underlying heart trouble are advised to interrupt anti-HIV therapy for one month and take non-invasive tests for heart function. All Persons taking ddC need to be aware of, and to report to a doctor, the signs of heart failure which are low blood pressure and fluid in the lungs, liver or lower extremities, causing difficulty breathing, liver enlargement, stomach pain, or swelling in the legs.

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