Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with an increased risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Upon the screening of 220 asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals by echocardiography, we detected and confirmed HIV-associated PAH in 0.45 % of cases. Mild elevations of systolic pulmonary arterial pressure most probably owing to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction were found in 7.7 % of cases, without progress after 2 years. We suggest that the screening of asymptomatic HIV-positive patients for PAH should not be performed.
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Acknowledgments
G. F., C. L., and C. W. have been funded by the German Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF grant 01KI1017). This manuscript contains parts of a doctoral thesis by D. V.
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ten Freyhaus, H., Vogel, D., Lehmann, C. et al. Echocardiographic screening for pulmonary arterial hypertension in HIV-positive patients. Infection 42, 737–741 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-014-0610-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-014-0610-8