Ventricular and atrial functions assessed by speckle-tracking echocardiography in patients with human...

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically changed the clinical manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated cardiomyopathy from severe left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction to a pattern of subclinical cardiac dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) LV, right ventricular (RV), and biatrial functions in HIV-infected patients under different ART combinations.

We consecutively included 128 HIV-infected patients (mean age 44.2 ± 10.1 years, 110 males) and 100 controls (mean age 42.1 ± 9.4 years, 83 males). Ventricular and atrial functions were assessed by both conventional and STE.

Although there was not any significant difference in conventional echocardiographic variables, HIV-infected patients had significantly lower LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), RV GLS, left atrial (LA) reservoir and conduit strain, and right atrial conduit strain. HIV patients receiving integrase strand transfer inhibitors and protease inhibitors (PI) had significantly lower LV GLS and LA conduit strain, while patients receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and PI had significantly lower RV GLS than controls. CD4 count at the time of echocardiography was strongly correlated with LV GLS (r = .619, P < .001) and RV GLS (r = .606, P < .001).

Biventricular and atrial functions are subclinically impaired in HIV-infected patients. ART regimen may also affect myocardial functions.