[Diastolic dysfunction in patients with human inmunodeficiency virus. Tissue Doppler study]
Insights
HIV infection is linked to diastolic dysfunction in asymptomatic patients, particularly with lower CD4 counts. Viral load was not associated with this cardiac alteration.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Virology
Background:
- Cardiac complications in HIV patients are understudied.
- Diastolic dysfunction is a common cardiac alteration in HIV, potentially due to viral, autoimmune, or co-infection mechanisms.
- Doppler tissue imaging is a reliable tool for assessing diastolic function, unaffected by hemodynamic factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (DDVI) in asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals.
- To investigate the relationship between DDVI, CD4 cell counts, and viral load in HIV patients.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 50 HIV-positive patients without cardiac symptoms.
- Echocardiogram with Doppler tissue imaging was performed.
- A control group of 50 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals was included.
Main Results:
- HIV infection was significantly associated with DDVI (p<0.05).
- A correlation was found between DDVI and CD4 lymphocyte levels.
- No significant association was observed between DDVI and HIV viral load.
Conclusions:
- Asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals exhibit an association with DDVI.
- Long-term monitoring of HIV patients with silent diastolic dysfunction is recommended to track potential progression to systolic dysfunction.
Unlabelled:
The heart has rarely been studied in patients infected with HIV. Diastolic dysfunction is the most frequently observed alteration , which could be due to direct viral action on the myocardium or due to autoimmune mechanism or concomitant infections by cardiotropic virus. The Doppler tissue is a more effective tool than the trans-mitral one to evaluate the diastolic function since is not influenced by preload, afterload or heart rate.
Objectives:
To study the prevalence of the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (DDVI) in the HIV (+) group of patients, without symptoms or diagnosis of heart-disease and to analyze their relationship with the CD4 levels and the viral charge.
Material And Methods:
We prospectively studied 50 HIV(+) patients with no symptoms of cardiac involvement who underwent an echocardiogram using Doppler tissue compared with 50 healthy persons matched sex and age as control group.
Results:
The infection of HIV was associated with DDVI and with CD4 Lymphocytes levels (p<0,05). The association between DDVI and viral load was not found.
Conclusions:
There is an association between the HIV infection and the presence of DDVI in asymptomatic patients. The long term monitoring studies should be considered in HIV (+) patients with silent diastolic dysfunction to evaluate their possible progression to the systolic dysfunction.
