title: Heart involvement in AIDS: a prospective study during various stages of the disease.
abstract: The goal of our study was to evaluate the incidence of heart involvement in AIDS patients during various stages of the disease. Between January 1988 to September 1991, we conducted a prospective study in 114 anti-HIV positive patients. The patients, whose mean age (+/- SD) was 34.6 +/- 5.4 years (range 20 to 54), were divided into three groups: anti-HIV positive asymptomatic (n = 31; 27%), AIDS related complex (ARC) group IV-A (n = 11; 10%), and AIDS subgroups IV-C1 (n = 62; 54%) and IV-D (n = 10; 9%). Overall, 84 patients (74%) were i.v. drug abusers, 24 (21%) were homosexuals, and six (5%) were partners at risk. Zidovudine (AZT) was administered to 94 patients (82%). Opportunistic infections and/or secondary malignancies were detected in 72 patients (63%). Electrocardiographic changes were of little clinical relevance. Of 72 AIDS patients, 47 (65.2%) presented a cardiac involvement: 12 subjects (16.6%) were affected by a dilated cardiomyopathy, 13 (18%) by pericardial effusion, three (4.1%) by mitral valve prolapse, four (5.5%) by myocarditis, five (6.9%) by valvular bacterial endocarditis, and 10 (13.8%) by alterations of left ventricle regional contractility. During a mean follow-up period of 44 months, 29 AIDS patients (40.2%) died. Death was attributed to a cardiac event in four patients; autopsy could be performed in 24 of the 29 patients who died. Our results demonstrate that heart involvement is present in 45.6% of HIV-infected patients, but only in the end-stage of the disease (AIDS) and it is presumably due to opportunistic infections and/or secondary malignancies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors: Service of Cardiology and Echocardiography, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: De Castro
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Migliau
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Silvestri
authors: G
authors: G
authors: D'Amati
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Giannantoni
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Cartoni
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Kol
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Vullo
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Cirelli
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012384:Rome / Q000453:epidemiology; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology