Echocardiographic screening for pulmonary arterial hypertension in HIV-positive patients

• Published in: Infection Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 737 - 741
• Main Authors: ten Freyhaus, H., Vogel, D., Lehmann, C., Kümmerle, T., Wyen, C., Fätkenheuer, G., Rosenkranz, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-08-2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Brief Report; Cohort Studies; Echocardiography; Family Medicine; Female; General Practice; HIV Infections - complications; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension, Pulmonary - diagnosis; Hypertension, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Infectious Diseases; Internal Medicine; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Young Adult; ART; Echocardiography; HIV; Pulmonary hypertension; Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction
• ISSN: 0300-8126; 1439-0973
• DOI: 10.1007/s15010-014-0610-8

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.