United States – Individuals with HIV infection may have a greater possibility of having cardiovascular diseases even if they do not exhibit any sign of their infection, according to a new research report.
Elevated Risk Among Middle-Aged HIV Patients
Middle-aged people who are HIV positive have a higher risk of early cardiovascular problems, containing the thickening vessel walls that force the heart to work harder, sometimes with a limited function, as reported by HealthDay.
“Prior studies have shown cardiovascular disease in persons living with HIV, however not at such an early stage,” said senior researcher Dr. Ahmed Gharib, director of the Biomedical and Metabolic Imaging, Md.
The study showed that the successful treatment of HIV with different drugs leads to longer lives for the patients, and now health problems not related to AIDS are becoming very common.
Prevalence and Progression
The WHO reports the number of about 39 million HIV-positive individuals worldwide. According to the statistics, by 2010, the number of HIV-related deaths has been reduced by 51%.
Nevertheless, recent research has shown that people with HIV are four times as likely to have a sudden cardiac death compared to the general population, the researchers said in the background information section.
Research Methodology and Findings
The researcher, therefore, selected 74 adults who were living with HIV and were not known to suffer from any heart disease to learn the risk of them. The volunteers were matched with 50 healthy people who did not have either HIV or heart disease.
All participants were scanned with an MRI to determine the thickness of their heart blood vessels. They were further evaluated by ECG to examine the heart’s functioning.
The comparative data revealed that a group of HIV patients had thicker cardiac vessels than the normal group. The tighter arteries that a higher sodium intake could result were also linked to the thickening of the left ventricle — one of the lower chambers of the heart — and impaired diastolic functioning of the ventricles.
These hardening of heart can lead to heart failure, based on the Cleveland Clinic.
The heart artery thickness association was seen in the case of didanosine, a drug included in the HIV treatment cocktail, the researchers indicated.
The new study was published April 4 in the journal Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
Implications for Patient Care
“The ability to detect early coronary artery disease in persons living with HIV and potentially prevent detrimental effects on the heart muscle is important,” lead researcher Khaled Abd-Elmoniem, a staff scientist in NIDDK’s Biomedical and Metabolic Imaging Branch, said in a journal news release. “This research shows the impact of HIV on developing subtle subclinical coronary artery disease and its effects on heart function.”
According to the researchers, physicians may be able to intervene and preserve the heart health of their patients by recognizing those who exhibit these early heart disease symptoms, as reported by HealthDay.