Abstract
AIM: To evaluate cardiac function and structure in untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients without clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. METHODS: Fifty-three naïve untreated HIV-infected patients and 56 healthy control subjects underwent clinical assessment, electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography, including tissue doppler imaging. Moreover, a set of laboratory parameters was obtained from all subjects, including HIV-RNA plasma levels, CD4 cell counts and tumor necrosis factor-α levels. RESULTS: The two groups showed normal ECG traces and no differences regarding systolic morphologic parameters. In contrast, a higher prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (abnormal relaxation or pseudonormal filling pattern) was found in the HIV patients (36% vs 9% in patients and controls, respectively, P <0.001). CONCLUSION: Subclinical cardiac abnormalities appear in an early stage of the HIV infection, independent of antiretroviral therapy. The data suggest that HIV per se plays a role in the genesis of diastolic dysfunction.