People living with HIV facing new threat of heart disease

Although HIV is now a manageable disease, those with HIV are increasingly dealing with cardiovascular disease. In a new article, scientists write that HIV patients tend to have a 1.5 to twofold higher risk of heart failure and up to a fourfold higher rate of sudden cardiac death compared to the general population. These risks are tied not only to lifestyle factors but also the fact that HIV promotes inflammation and increases susceptibility to disease. HIV patients who are women or from non-white populations also face other barriers, including being less likely to receive statins. The authors call for more trials that examine the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in those with HIV as well as for physicians to be extra vigilant about their HIV patients’ development of heart conditions.