Pilot study of coronary atherosclerotic risk and plaque burden in HIV patients: 'a call for cardiovascular prevention'.

BACKGROUND: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically improved the life expectancy of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prompting increasing concerns related to chronic management. Suggestions of greater cardiovascular risk, partially related to recently proposed HAART-induced dyslipidemia and glucose intolerance, amplify these concerns. At this time, further corroboration of the emerging evidence for increased coronary risk, as well as complimentary estimates of coronary artery atherosclerotic burden, would be valuable to practicing physicians. METHODS: Seventeen HIV patients on HAART (all from the same HIV clinic population) without coronary artery disease (CAD) were referred to Preventive Cardiology for treatment of dyslipidemia ('referred group'). Upon entry, they underwent computed tomography (CT) of the coronary arteries. Subsequently, the referred group was matched (1:4) for age, gender and traditional risk to non-HIV non-CAD subjects (matched group, n=68) from the University of Illinois CT database. A serial review of 90 subjects from the original HIV population was sampled to determine general cardiovascular risk. RESULTS: Thirteen (76%) of the 17 referred patients revealed the presence of coronary calcium compared with 63% in the matched HIV seronegative controls (P=0.18). Log-transformed median calcium score was 2.93+/-2.3 in the referred group versus 1.97+/-2.5 in the matched group (P=0.09). Fifty one percent of the overall population smoked cigarettes, 11% were diabetic (30% diagnosed pre-HAART and 70% post-HAART) and 30% were hypertensive (33% diagnosed pre-HAART and 67% post-HAART). CONCLUSIONS: In a particularly dyslipidemic subgroup of HIV subjects without known CAD we found evidence for atherosclerosis in three-quarters based on coronary calcium. Further, in this population of HIV patients on HAART, we found an enhanced prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk. This pilot study encourages the development of preventive strategies in this population.

Comparison of low risk and higher risk profiles in middle age to frequency and quantity of coronary artery calcium years later.

Little is known about the relation of having favorable levels of all major cardiovascular risk factors (low risk [LR]) earlier in life to coronary artery calcium (CAC) later in life. From 2002 to 2003, CAC was compared in participants aged >60 years who were LR (n = 42) with those not LR (n = 39) at baseline (from 1967 to 1973). Despite adverse changes in risk factors, the prevalence of measurable CAC and mean CAC scores were less for LR participants than for non-LR participants (60% vs 77%, p = 0.09, and 217 vs 443, p = 0.05, respectively).

Cardiac anxiety in patients self-referred for electron beam tomography.

Studies have repeatedly shown that as many as 43% of patients undergoing coronary angiograms have no evidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). Fear of cardiac-related sensations has been posited as one explanation for complaints of chest pain in patients without CHD. The purpose of this study is to examine variables associated with cardiac anxiety in a sample of individuals self-referred for noninvasive coronary calcium screening. Nearly one quarter of the subjects screened experienced chest pain in the absence of coronary artery calcium (CAC). Individuals without evidence of CAC were more likely to report higher levels of heart-focused attention, even when subjects with any risk factors for CHD were excluded from the analyses. Men were more likely to have evidence of coronary calcium, although a greater proportion of women reported chest pain. Women generally endorsed higher levels of cardioprotective behavior, heart-focused attention, and fear of heart-related sensations. Findings are discussed in relation to treatment of cardiac anxiety and the prevention of unnecessary medical procedures.

Electron beam tomography imaging of coronary calcium: the effect of body mass index on radiologic noise.

PURPOSE: To measure selected parameters of radiologic noise in electron beam tomographic (EBT) images obtained for coronary artery calcium (CAC) screening, and to determine an association between the level of radiologic noise and patient body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Electron beam tomographic CAC studies were performed on 311 persons. The study sample was stratified into three groups according to subjects' BMI. Three regions of interest (ROI) parameters of radiologic noise were used to measure the strength of association between the level of radiologic noise and BMI. RESULTS: The measured ROI parameters of radiologic noise demonstrated a significant difference across the strata, with values gradually increasing from the normal weight group to the obese group. All ROI parameters showed significant correlations with BMI. CONCLUSION: These findings support proposals to modify the current EBT CAC scoring methodology to account for variability in patient body size. These modifications may reduce the image noise levels and subsequently decrease the number of false-positive results.