HIV-related Cardiovascular Diseases: the Search for a Unifying Hypothesis.

HIV-related Cardiovascular Diseases: the Search for a Unifying Hypothesis. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2020 Feb 21;: Authors: Dominick L, Midgley N, Swart LM, Sprake D, Deshpande G, Laher I, Joseph DE, Teer E, Essop MF Abstract Although the extensive roll-out of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy resulted in a longer life expectancy for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV), such individuals display a relatively increased occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This health challenge stimulated significant research interests in the field, leading to an improved understanding of both lifestyle-related risk factors and the underlying mechanisms of CVD onset in PLHIV. However, despite such progress the precise role of various risk factors and mechanisms underlying the development of HIV-mediated CVD still remain relatively poorly understood. We therefore review CVD onset in PLHIV and focus on a) the spectrum of cardiovascular complications that typically manifest in such persons and b) underlying mechanisms that are implicated in this process. Here the contributions of such factors and modulators, and underlying mechanisms are considered in a holistic and integrative manner to generate a unifying hypothesis that includes identification of the core pathways mediating CVD onset. The review focuses on the sub-Saharan African context as there are relatively high numbers of PLHIV residing within this region indicating th...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol Source Type: research