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What Is Excess Visceral Abdominal Fat?

Excess visceral abdominal fat lies deep within the abdominal (belly) area. It is different from regular fat, also known as subcutaneous fat, which sits just beneath the skin.

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Measure Your Waist-to-Hip Ratio

Excess Visceral Abdominal Fat:

  • Feels firmer than regular fat (which is soft and can be pinched)
  • Surrounds the organs such as your stomach, liver, and intestines, and can also build up inside the organs
  • May be hard to get rid of with diet and exercise alone
Diagram of abdominal fat

What Causes Excess Visceral Abdominal Fat?

If you are a person with HIV, you may experience a build-up or loss of body fat in certain areas of your body. This is called lipodystrophy.

The build-up of excess visceral abdominal fat you may have noticed is one type of lipodystrophy. Many factors may be influencing this build-up, such as:

  • Age
  • How long you’ve had HIV
  • Certain types of antiretroviral therapy (ART)
  • A deficiency in growth hormone (GH)
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What Are the Risks?

Excess visceral abdominal fat is harmful to your health and can be linked to serious health issues* such as high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and fatty liver.

It can also affect quality of life, causing anxiety, depression, and decreased self-esteem.

* EGRIFTA SV® is not approved to reduce the health consequences of excess visceral abdominal fat.
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Waist

  1. Stand up straight and place a measuring tape around your middle, just above your hip bones.
  2. Measure at the level of the top of the hip bones and in line with your belly button.
  3. Keep the measuring tape horizontal around your waist.
  4. Do not compress the skin; keep the measuring tape snug around your waist.
  5. Breathe out before measuring.

Hips

  1. Stand up straight and place the measuring tape around the widest area of the hips around the buttocks.
  2. Make sure the measuring tape is horizontal before measuring.
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Could EGRIFTA SV® Be Right for You?

Measure your waist-to-hip ratio to check if you may have excess visceral abdominal fat. You’ll need a measuring tape.

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Does the fat on your abdomen (belly) feel firm?

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Measure your waist and hip circumference:

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What Are Your Treatment Options?

To maintain a healthy lifestyle and help you manage your excess visceral abdominal fat, it is important to:

  • Regularly exercise
  • Eat a well-balanced diet

You can also make sure you’re getting enough sleep, limiting alcohol intake, and lowering stress levels with yoga or meditation.

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While healthy habits are essential to your overall well-being, they may not be enough to manage your excess visceral abdominal fat.

EGRIFTA SV® is used to reduce excess visceral abdominal (belly) fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy.*
* EGRIFTA SV® is not indicated for weight loss management. Its safety and impact on cardiovascular health have not been studied, and it’s not known whether taking EGRIFTA SV® helps improve compliance with antiretroviral medications.

Download the Doctor Discussion Guide to Help Kickstart a Conversation About EGRIFTA SV®, or Find a Specialist Who Is Knowledgeable About HIV-Related Excess Visceral Abdominal Fat and EGRIFTA SV®.

Doctor Discussion GuideFind a Specialist

IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION ABOUT EGRIFTA SV® (TESAMORELIN) FOR INJECTION

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What is EGRIFTA SV® (tesamorelin) for injection?

  • EGRIFTA SV® is an injectable prescription medicine used to reduce excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy. EGRIFTA SV® is a growth hormone-releasing factor (GHRF) analog.
  • EGRIFTA SV® is not for weight loss management.
  • The long-term safety of EGRIFTA SV® on the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular) is not known.
  • It is not known whether taking EGRIFTA SV® helps improve how well you take your antiretroviral medications.
  • It is not known if EGRIFTA SV® is safe and effective in children; do not use in children.

You should not take EGRIFTA SV® if you:

  • Have a pituitary gland tumor, surgery, or other problems related to your pituitary gland, or have had radiation treatment to your head or head injury.
  • Have active cancer.
  • Are allergic to tesamorelin or any of the ingredients in EGRIFTA SV®.
  • Are pregnant or become pregnant. If you become pregnant, stop using EGRIFTA SV® and talk with your healthcare provider.
  • Are less than 18 years of age.

Before using EGRIFTA SV®, tell your healthcare provider if you:

  • Have or have had cancer.
  • Have problems with blood sugar or diabetes.
  • Have scheduled heart or stomach surgery.
  • Have breathing problems.
  • Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.
  • Are taking any other prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

EGRIFTA SV® may cause serious side effects including:

  • Increased risk of new cancer in adults with HIV or your cancer coming back (reactivation). Stop using EGRIFTA SV® and inform your healthcare provider if any cancer symptoms come back.
  • Increased levels of your insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Your healthcare provider will do blood tests to check your IGF-1 levels while you are taking EGRIFTA SV®.
  • Serious allergic reaction such as rash or hives anywhere over the body or on the skin, swelling of the face or throat, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, feeling of faintness or fainting, itching and reddening or flushing of the skin. If you have any of these symptoms, stop using EGRIFTA SV® and get emergency medical help right away.
  • Swelling or fluid retention. Call your healthcare provider if you have swelling, an increase in joint pain, or pain or numbness in your hands or wrist.
  • Increase in blood sugar (glucose) or diabetes.
  • Injection site reactions. Injection site reactions are a common side effect of EGRIFTA SV®, but may sometimes be serious.
  • Increased risk of death in people who have critical illness because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory) problems has been reported after treatment with therapeutic doses of growth hormones.

The most common side effects of EGRIFTA SV® include:

  • Pain in legs and arms
  • Muscle pain

These are not all of the possible side effects of EGRIFTA SV®. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or to THERA patient support® toll-free at 1-833-23THERA (1-833-238-4372).

This information is not intended to replace discussions with your doctor. For additional information about EGRIFTA SV®, see the full Prescribing Information, Patient Information, Patient Instructions for Use, and talk to your doctor. For more information about EGRIFTA SV® contact THERA patient support® toll-free at 1-833-23THERA (1-833-238-4372).