Hiv Accelerates Coronary Artery Disease Progression Through Enhancing the Effects of Conventional and Unconventional Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Introduction: Cross-sectional studies are inconsistent regarding the potential independent adverse effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infection on coronary artery disease (CAD). Also, there is no information on the potential effects of HIV-infection on plaque volumes. Furthermore, only the independent effects of HIV-infection on CAD have been investigated. Therefore, in our prospective longitudinal observational cohort, we wished to assess whether HIV-infection accelerates CAD independently, or by acting in a synergistic fashion with conventional and unconventional cardiovascular risk factors such as cocaine to accelerate disease progression as assessed by clinical and volumetric parameters of CAD on coronary CT angiography (CCTA).