HIV may be risk factor in heart failure

Patients with HIV infection without a prior history of coronary heart disease may be at a higher risk of developing heart failure.

“Heavy alcohol consumption, which is more prevalent among HIV-infected people, is also an established risk factor for heart failure,” the study authors write.

Adeel A. Butt from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and colleagues analyzed data from HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected veterans enrolled in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Virtual Cohort, the journal Archives of Internal Medicine reports.

The objective was to determine whether HIV infection was independently associated with an increase risk of heart failure (HF), according to a Pittsburgh statement.

A total of 8,486 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 2,391 were HIV- infected and 6,095 were HIV-uninfected. During the median (midpoint) 7.3 years of follow-up, there were 286 new heart failure events and 1,096 deaths.

“Participants with HIV infection were more likely to have Hepatitis C virus co-infection and cocaine abuse or dependence and higher reported rate of current smoking, but were less likely to have hypertension or diabetes,” the authors report.

Compared with HIV-uninfected veterans, those who were HIV-infected had an increased risk of heart failure, and this association was also present among veterans who did not have a coronary heart disease event or a diagnosis related to alcohol abuse or dependence before the heart failure event.