Coronary Artery Vessel Wall Thickness Increased for People Living With HIV

TUESDAY, April 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Asymptomatic people living with HIV (PLWH) with a low risk for cardiovascular disease have increased coronary artery vessel wall thickness (VWT), according to a study published online April 4 in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.

Khaled Z. Abd-Elmoniem, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues conducted a prospective study involving 74 adult PLWH without known CVD and 25 matched healthy controls to examine early subclinical coronary artery disease burden and its relation to myocardial function. Participants underwent coronary magnetic resonance imaging to measure coronary artery VWT; left ventricular function was assessed with echocardiography.

The researchers found that compared with controls, PLWH had significantly greater coronary artery VWT (1.47 ± 0.22 versus 1.34 ± 0.18 mm) and a higher left ventricular mass index (LVMI; 77 ± 16 versus 70 ± 13). PLWH showed an altered association between coronary VWT and both ratio of left ventricular-filling peak blood flow velocity in early diastole (E wave) to that in late diastole (A wave; E/A) and LVMI. Coronary artery VWT increase was associated with lower E/A and higher LVMI in the PLWH subgroup analysis, indicating restricted diastolic function. Didanosine exposure was associated with increased coronary artery VWT and reduced E/A ratio.

“Coronary artery VWT may be amenable to follow-up studies of pathogenesis, which would aid in identifying downstream effects on myocardial function and risk modification strategies,” the authors write.

One author disclosed a related patent.

Abstract/Full Text