HIV and Coronary Risk

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 12 Apr 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Patients infected with HIV may be at increased risk for coronary events. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have studied the progression of atherosclerosis, as assessed by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), in HIV-infected patients.

HIV infection was found to be an independent predictor of IMT. The rate of IMT progression was also higher among HIV-infected patients when compared to an uninfected control group.

The extent of atherosclerosis in the HIV group was associated with age, LDL cholesterol, hypertension, and other "classic" cardiac risk factors.

Lead author Priscilla Y. Hsue, MD, said, "Our finding suggests that it would be reasonable to consider HIV infection a cardiac risk factor. Other risk factors, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, need to be aggressively treated in HIV patients even if it means changes in their HIV medications to control cholesterol levels." The study was published in Circulation online before print.

REFERENCE LINKS:
An abstract is available at
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/01.CIR.0000124480.32233.8Av1

Source: Physician's Weekly
http://www.physweekly.com

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