Cardiac involvement in HIV-positive patients
Efrat Daglan1, Dan Yamin2, Bogdana Manu3
1MD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Germs
|January 17, 2014
Summary
Long-term HIV infection in Romanian patients, many infected since infancy, shows significant cardiac involvement. Modifiable risk factors like high cholesterol and smoking increase this risk, highlighting the need for early intervention and smoking cessation programs.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- The Romanian HIV/AIDS epidemic is unique, with most patients infected in infancy and on long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
- This distinct patient population offers a unique opportunity to study long-term cardiac sequelae in individuals with prolonged HIV infection.
- Understanding cardiac involvement in this cohort is crucial for managing long-term HIV care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of cardiac involvement in Romanian HIV-positive patients with a long history of infection.
- To assess cardiac status using echocardiography in a cohort with over a decade of HAART.
- To identify modifiable risk factors associated with cardiac complications in this population.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 40 HIV-positive patients was prospectively studied at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases
- Matei Balş
- Bucharest, Romania.
- Echocardiography was performed to evaluate cardiac structure and function.
- Patients' data on cardiovascular and HIV-related risk factors (age, gender, lipids, glucose, smoking, treatment duration) were collected and analyzed.
Main Results:
- The study included patients with a median age of 23, averaging 20.85 years post-infection and 15.9 years on HAART.
- Cardiac involvement, including hyperkinetic syndrome, hypertrophy, atheroma, and pulmonary hypertension, was observed in 37.5% of patients.
- Key risk factors for cardiac involvement included male gender (OR 3.187) and smoking (OR 2.538), with a combined high risk for smokers with high cholesterol (OR 5.75).
Conclusions:
- A significant proportion of long-term HIV-infected Romanian patients exhibit cardiac involvement.
- Modifiable risk factors, particularly smoking and high cholesterol, are strongly associated with increased cardiac risk.
- Public health strategies should focus on smoking cessation and management of dyslipidemia in young HIV-positive individuals to mitigate long-term cardiac complications.
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