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Epidemiology and pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related heart disease: a review
1Department of Medicine, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Insights
Cardiac dysfunction is increasingly seen in HIV patients due to longer survival. Understanding HIV-related heart disease mechanisms is key for timely intervention and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
Background:
- Growing evidence links HIV infection to cardiac dysfunction.
- Longer survival with modern HIV therapy increases the prevalence of cardiac complications.
- Heart issues in HIV/AIDS can stem from the disease, its treatment, or direct HIV effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review literature on HIV-related heart disease.
- To explore epidemiology and pathogenetic mechanisms.
- To inform diagnosis, management, and therapy.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of heart disease in HIV/AIDS.
- Searches of MEDLINE/PUBMED and bibliographic databases.
- Focus on epidemiology and pathogenetic mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Potential causes of HIV-related heart disease include direct HIV invasion, opportunistic infections, and drug toxicity.
- Other factors implicated are viral infections, autoimmune responses, nutritional deficiencies, and immunosuppression.
- HIV-related cardiac complications are associated with chronic viral infection, co-infections, drug therapy, and immunosuppression.
Conclusions:
- HIV-infected individuals increasingly present with cardiac complications.
- Understanding HIV-related cardiac illness aids monitoring and early intervention.
- Effective management requires knowledge of the nature and course of these cardiac conditions.
Background:
There is a clear and growing body of evidence for cardiac dysfunction in a significant portion of patients with HIV disease. An increased number of HIV-infected individuals may present with cardiac complications in the future as more patients with this disease survive longer because of modern therapy. Heart involvement in AIDS may be well characterized cardiac disease occurring coincidentally in AIDS patients, a complication of the disease or its treatment or possibly a direct insult to the heart by the HIV itself.
Methods:
We reviewed the literature on heart disease in HIV infection and AIDS with particular reference to epidemiology and pathogenetic mechanisms that may play a role in diagnosis, management, and therapy of these complications. The MEDLINE/PUBMED and bibliographic searches forEnglish language studies were used.
Results:
A variety of potential aetiologies have been postulated in HIV-related heart disease, including myocardial invasion with HIV itself, opportunistic infections, viral infections, autoimmune response to viral infection, drug-related cardiac toxicity, nutritional deficiencies, and prolonged immunosuppression.
Conclusion:
An increased number of HIV-infected individuals present with cardiac complications as chronic viral infection, co-infections, drug therapy, and immunosuppression. Understanding the nature and course of cardiac illness related to HIV infection may allow appropriate monitoring, early intervention and therapy
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