Ventricular mass and diastolic function in patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus

Objective-Echocardiographic and Doppler analysis of myocardial mass and dia stolic function in patients infected with HIV. Design-Case-control study. Setting-Tertiary referral centre, Huelva, Spain. Patients-61 asymptomatic patients with HIV infection and 32 healthy control s. Main outcome measures-Time motion, cross sectional, and Doppler echocardiog raphic studies were performed, and left ventricular mass and diastolic func tion variables determined (peak velocity of early and late mitral outflow a nd isovolumic relaxation time). Results-Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was decreased in patients compar ed with healthy controls (mean (SD): 76.7 (23.6) v 118.8 (23.5) g/m(2), p < 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed a correlation between LVMI and b rachial fat and muscle areas. The ratio of peak velocities of early and lat e mitral outflow was decreased in HIV infected patients compared with contr ols (1.19 (0.44) v 1.58 (0.38), p < 0.001). This ratio was exclusively rela ted to haemodynamic variables (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pre ssures). HIV infected patients had a prolonged isovolumic relaxation time ( 103.0 (10.5) v 72.9 (12.9) ms, p < 0.001). Isovolumic relaxation time was c orrelated only with brachial muscle area on multivariate analysis. Conclusions-HIV infected patients had a reduced left ventricular mass index and diastolic functional abnormalities. These cardiac abnormalities are pr edominantly related to nutritional status.