Atherosclerosis
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Although anti-retroviral therapy (ART) prolonged survival in HIV-infected persons, an increase in cardiovascular disease has also been observed. A frequent complication of ART is the development of lipodystrophy (LD) with its multiple phenotypes that may be associated with cardiovascular disease. We assessed the contribution of chronic HIV infection, ART use and LD to the presence of sub-clinical atherosclerosis as evaluated by coronary artery calcium (CAC) imaging. ⋯ CAC is common among long-term ART users. The association between CAC and LD underscores the potential atherosclerosis risk inherent with ART and the need to undertake routine cardiovascular surveillance in patients treated with these drugs.