Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Cardiac diseases in AIDS echocardiography
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Echocardiography is the most specific test for diagnosing the degree of systolic LV dysfunction in HIV infected patients with cardiomyopathy. Common findings include effusions and ventricular dysfunction.
Echocardiography
Echocardiography
Possible echocardiographic findings in AIDS patients with cardiac involvement include:
- Pericardial effusions in pericarditis
- Ventricular dilatation in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)
- LV dysfunction in heart failure (increased LV mass with low-normal or increased wall thickness and dilated LV)
- Hypertrophied right ventricle, RV dysfunction and elevated pulmonary artery pressures in pulmonary hypertension
- Vegetations in infective endocarditis
- Tricuspid regurgitation
- Mitral valve prolapse
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2]