title: MR characterization of cardiac abnormalities in HIV+ individuals with increased BNP levels.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize cardiac abnormalities in HIV+ patients with increased serum B-type natiuretic peptide (BNP) by contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Non-blinded prospective consecutive cohort evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  More than 400 HIV+ patients were screened for potential BNP alterations. 16 met the inclusion criteria of elevated BNP levels and 12 patients could finally be enrolled. MRI analysis comprised function, oedema and late enhancement sequences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients exhibited a median serum BNP level of 249 pg/ml. Based on MRI, diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (n = 3), myocarditis (n = 2), chronic myocardial infarction (n = 2), dilated cardiomyopathy (n=1) and right ventricular failure (n = 1) was made.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although no specific MR pattern was found, MR allowed characterization of the underlying cardiac pathologies in 82% of HIV+ patients with elevated BNP levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, West German Heart Center, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Breuckmann
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nassenstein
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kondratieva
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esser
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Erbel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Potthoff
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Brockmeyer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barkhausen
mesh_terms: D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement
chemical_list: D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain