Isaac Kofi Owusu and Bright Oppong
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a global public health issue and a major problem in sub-
Saharan Africa. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study designed to determine the prevalence of
cardiovascular abnormalities in HIV positive patients using echocardiography. The study was carried out at the
Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, Ghana. Treatment naïve HIV positive patients aged between 16
and 82 years were recruited from the HIV clinic using simple random sampling. Disease history documentation,
physical examination and trans-thoracic echocardiography were performed on all study participants. Two hundred
(200) patients were studied. They were aged between 16 and 82 years with the mean age (± SD) of 40.6 (± 10.5)
years. There were more females (74.5%; n=149) than males (25.5%; n=51). The overall prevalence of
cardiovascular abnormalities was 55.5% (n=111). The cardiovascular abnormalities seen were pulmonary
hypertension (38.50%), dilated cardiomyopathy (34%), pericardial effusion (23.50%), left ventricular systolic
dysfunction (17.50 %) and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (9.50%). Moderate pericardial effusion was seen in
9.5% of the patients whilst minimal pericardial effusion was seen in 14%. No patient was seen with severe
pericardial effusion. For the patients with pulmonary hypertension, the mean (± SD) right ventricular systolic
pressure (RVSP) was 51.5 (± 7.8) mmHg, (range; 40-70 mmHg). In conclusion, there was a high prevalence of
cardiovascular abnormalities among adult HIV positive patients attending the HIV clinic at KATH, Kumasi, Ghana.
The main cardiovascular abnormalities were pulmonary hypertension, dilated cardiomyopathy and pericardial
effusion.
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