Prevalence of Ischemic Heart Disease and Management of Coronary Risk in Daily Clinical Practice: Results from a Mediterranean Cohort of HIV-Infected Patients

Abstract

There are conflicting data on the prevalence of coronary events and the quality of the management of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) inHIV-infected patients. Methods.We performed a retrospective descriptive study to determine the prevalence of coronary events and to evaluate the management of CVRF in a Mediterranean cohort of 3760 HIV-1-infected patients from April 1983 through June 2011. Results.We identified 81 patients with a history of a coronary event (prevalence 2.15%); 83% of them suffered an acute myocardial infarction. At the time of the coronary event, CVRF were highly prevalent (60.5% hypertension, 48% dyslipidemia, and 16% diabetes mellitus).OtherCVRF, such as smoking, hypertension, lack of exercise, and body mass index, were not routinely assessed. After the coronary event, a significant decrease in total cholesterol (𝑃� = 0.025) and LDLcholesterol (𝑃� = 0.004) was observed. However, the percentage of patients whomaintained LDL-cholesterol > 100mg/dL remained stable (from 46% to 41%, 𝑃� = 0.103). Patients using protease inhibitors associated with a favorable lipid profile increased over time (𝑃� = 0.028). Conclusions.The prevalence of coronary events in our cohort is low. CVRF prevalence is high and theirmanagement is far from optimal. More aggressive interventions should be implemented to diminish cardiovascular risk in HIV-infected patients.