E-Mail
IMAGE: Noncalcified coronary plaque in an asymptomatic 52-year-old man living with HIV with a 10-year Framingham risk of 5%. Images show 256-section contrast-enhanced coronary CT angiography with electrocardiographic gating and curve. view more
Credit: Radiological Society of North America
OAK BROOK, Ill. - People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and without known cardiovascular disease have two to three times the noncalcified coronary plaque burden of non-HIV healthy volunteers, according to a study from Canada published in
Radiology. Researchers said the results underscore the importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle in people living with HIV.
HIV/AIDS emerged as a major public health crisis in the 1980s. Disease-related mortality peaked in the mid-1990s and has been dropping since, thanks in large part to antiretroviral therapy, which does not cure the disease but helps control it.