Stress caused attack, not ARVs

2005-03-28 22:49

Johannes de Villiers

Cape Town - Aids activist and head of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Zackie Achmat, believes the heart attack he had last week Thursday could be linked to the fact that he has HIV/Aids.

Statistically it has been proven that people with Aids are more prone to heart attacks, Achmat said from his hospital bed on Monday.

But he was convinced that the heart attack had nothing to do with the antiretroviral medication he has been taking for more than a year.

Nathan Geffen, head of communications for TAC, said Achmat's heart attack was probably caused by his being "an overworked 42-year-old who does not get enough exercise and is overweight".

Achmat suffered a coronary heart attack at his Muizenberg home on Thursday. His housemate, Jack Lewis, called an ambulance after Achmat developed chest pains and had problems breathing.

Achmat expected to be discharged within a couple of days, after which he would probably take sick leave for a month on the recommendation of the TAC.

On the possibility that someone could experience side effects that could lead to a heart attack while on the type of treatment Achmat was using, Geffen referred to an American study "which shows that anti-retroviral triple-therapy decreases the risk of heart attacks among people with HIV/Aids".

Triple-therapy refers to the simultaneous use of three anti-retrovirals, namely AZT, Lamivudine and nevirapine.

"I am not sure about the Achmat family's cardiac history but I don't think it's very good. Zackie is also not very active and he is under tremendous stress, which probably caused his heart attack," said Geffen.

Dr Jantjie Taljaard, head of the infectious diseases unit at Tygerberg hospital, said there was no indication that the three substances taken by Achmat could have sparked a heart problem.

"There are other anti-retrovirals that can give you diabetes and cholesterol (which in turn could lead to heart problems), but we only give these in instances where other medicines don't work."

- Die Burger