Cardiovascular disease in HIV infection in the C.U.K.

Cardiovascular damage during HIV infection is frequent and often serious. The aim of this study at C.U.K. is to analyse cardiovascular damage in HIV-infected patients hospitalised in the cardiology department. It is a retrospective study of the records of patients consecutively hospitalised in the Cardiology and Infectious Diseases Department between January 2008 and January 2013. Inclusion criteria were progressive acquired cardiovascular disease, positive HIV serology and no previous history or other cardiovascular pathology. The parameters studied were sex, age, marital status, province of origin, and clinical and para-clinical data. Our sample comprised 54 patients, 30 men (55.6%) and 24 women (44.4%), with a sex ratio of 1.25 in favour of men. The mean age was 42.5 ± 12.1 years, with extremes of 18 and 67 years. The clinical picture was dominated by heart failure (55.6% of cases) and pericarditis (22.2%).