@article{3125166,
    title = "Myocardial deformation imaging unmasks subtle left ventricular systolic dysfunction in asymptomatic and treatment-naïve HIV patients",
    author = "Karavidas, A. and Xylomenos, G. and Matzaraki, V. and Papoutsidakis, N. and Leventopoulos, G. and Farmakis, D. and Lazaros, G. and Perpinia, A. and Arapi, S. and Paisios, N. and Parissis, J. and Pyrgakis, V. and Gargalianos, P.",
    journal = "Clinical Research in Cardiology",
    year = "2015",
    volume = "104",
    number = "11",
    pages = "975-981",
    publisher = "Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag GmbH and Co. KG",
    issn = "1861-0684, 1861-0692",
    doi = "10.1007/s00392-015-0866-8",
    keywords = "adult;  Article;  cardiomyopathy;  clinical article;  controlled study;  Doppler echography;  echocardiography;  enzyme linked immunosorbent assay;  female;  heart function;  human;  Human immunodeficiency virus infection;  left ventricular systolic dysfunction;  male;  middle aged;  risk factor;  virus load;  Western blotting;  complication;  computer assisted diagnosis;  differential diagnosis;  echography;  elastography;  etiology;  heart left ventricle function;  Human immunodeficiency virus infection;  pathophysiology;  procedures;  reproducibility;  sensitivity and specificity;  Young modulus, Adult;  Diagnosis, Differential;  Elastic Modulus;  Elasticity Imaging Techniques;  Female;  HIV Infections;  Humans;  Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted;  Male;  Reproducibility of Results;  Sensitivity and Specificity;  Ventricular Dysfunction, Left",
    abstract = "Background: Patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease than healthy subjects, but little is known about cardiac function in asymptomatic and treatment-naïve patients. We sought to study cardiac function in asymptomatic HIV-infected, treatment-naïve patients. Methods: We studied 41 HIV-infected and treatment-naïve patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Patients with cardiac symptoms, history of cardiac disease or NT-proBNP >100 pg/mL were excluded. We addressed cardiac function using standard echocardiography along with tissue Doppler (TDI) measurements, including strain/strain rate assessment. Results: Standard echocardiographic parameters did not differ between groups, except for transmitral E wave velocity (64.8 ± 14 cm/s in HIV vs 76.1 ± 10 cm/s in controls, p = 0.002). In contrast, TDI mitral and tricuspid annulus s velocity and all strain/strain rate measurements were significantly lower in HIV patients: s lateral, 10.2 ± 2.4/11.3 ± 0.7, p = 0.011; s septal, 8.1 ± 1.6/8.7 ± 0.8, p = 0.045; s tricuspid, 13.4 ± 2.3/14.9 ± 1.3, p = 0.002; strain/strain rate, septal (strain/strain rate, 15.1 ± 5.7/−0.9 ± 0.3, 25.3 ± 1.7/−1.9 ± 0.2, p < 0.001), anterior (16.7 ± 3/−1.0 ± 0.1, 26.7 ± 1.7/−1.9 ± 0.2, p < 0.001), lateral (16.0 ± 6/−1.0 ± 0.1, 27.5 ± 1.8/−2.2 ± 0.3, p < 0.001) and posterior (15.2 ± 5.8/−1.0 ± 0.2, 26.2 ± 1.8/−2.2 ± 0.3, p < 0.001) left ventricular wall. Conclusions: HIV infection itself is accompanied by subclinical systolic dysfunction, not apparent to standard echocardiography that can be unmasked though using sensitive echocardiographic techniques. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg."
}