Echocardiography in Patients with HIV Infection

This review aims to outline the important echocardiographic findings observed in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the current era of treatment.

HIV infection has a wide spectrum of cardiac manifestations. Myocardial and pericardial involvement were the primary cardiac manifestations in HIV patients early during the epidemic in the developed countries. In the current era of effective antiretroviral therapy, the spectrum has shifted to metabolic abnormalities (hyperlipidemia, hypertension, etc.), accelerated atherosclerotic disease, and cardiac sequelae related to these abnormalities. Dramatic improvement in life expectancy of patients with HIV infection has resulted in a shift in the developed nations in the spectrum of cardiac manifestations, currently dominated by diastolic dysfunction and coronary artery disease. Echocardiography and advanced echocardiographic techniques play a major role in diagnosis and screening of HIV patients with underlying cardiovascular abnormalities.