highly active antiretroviral therapy

noun

Medical Definition of highly active antiretroviral therapy

: the use of a combination of antiretroviral drugs in the treatment of HIV infection

Note: Highly active antiretroviral therapy typically involves the use of three or more antiretroviral drugs from at least two different classes (such as reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors).

In the last few years, the success of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in suppressing HIV viral load levels has given people infected with HIV hope for survival.— M. J. Friedrich, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 14 June 2000

— called also HAART