Evaluation of HIV-Related Cardiomyopathy in HIV-Positive Patients in Bushehr, Iran

Objectives In 2020, according to the UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), more than 37 million people lived with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection worldwide. The disease is known to affect several organs, and one of the most affected organs is the heart. Cardiac diseases are highly prevalent among HIV-infected individuals, and recent findings suggest that this could be due to the damage caused by the virus. HIV patients are subject to advanced immunosuppression, which may lead to cardiac muscle damage and, in turn, cardiomyopathy. We aimed to study the incidence of HIV-related cardiomyopathy. Methods A pilot cross-sectional study was conducted to assess cardiomyopathy among 200 HIV patients who presented to the Heart Center, Bushehr, Iran. Patients' files were used to determine the demographic data including age, gender, education, marital status, history of illicit drug use, unsafe/unprotected sexual contact, and whether the patient was a prisoner. Several laboratory data were also collected from these files. Physical examination of the cardiovascular system and echocardiography were also included as part of the evaluation. Results Although at least four out of five patients presented with some kind of cardiac damage, including valvular damage and pericardial effusion, none was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. Valvular dysfunction was detected in 88.5% of the patients. Diastolic dysfunction was found in 7.7% of them. The mean ejection fraction was found to be 58%. In addition to cardiomyopathy, none of the patients developed systolic dysfunction, wall motion abnormality, intra-cardiac mass, or vegetation. Conclusions Cardiovascular complications are common among HIV-infected patients. Cardiomyopathy was not detected in our patients. In addition, the most common manifestations that were detected among our patients were valvular heart diseases and pericardial effusion.