Resistance can take weeks to months to evolve. Once HIV becomes resistant to a drug, the drug is no longer effective. Using antiretrovirals in various combinations delays resistance and enhances the potency of the drugs. People who take antiretrovirals should be aware that the long-term effects of taking these drugs every day for many years, are not known yet. Long-term health complications can cause many problems such as premature cardiovascular disease.
Treatment requires an individualized combination of drugs.
Therapy requires life-long monitoring of HIV resistance and drug efficacy. HIV can still develop resistance. Drug-drug interactions can have adverse, sometimes deadly, consequences. Decisions about whether to start therapy, which drugs to choose, and when to change drugs are based on individual circumstances and detailed knowledge of the patient s medication history. Though AIDS remains an epidemic crisis in many parts of the world, the death rate from AIDS has fallen drastically in the United States and other industrialized nations where people have access to and can afford antiretroviral drugs.