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Study: HIV patients have 4x risk of sudden M.I.

Link between chronic inflammation, high cholesterol levels examined among causes of death in review

By Donald G. McNeil, Jr.
The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Godfrey was 19 when he found out he had H.I.V. He was 29 when he began antiretroviral therapy. He was 43 when he had a heart attack.

“I felt fluttery,” he said. “Weird and fluttery. It went away. I ignored it. A week later, it came back, and this time I felt something in my arm too. I was too stupid to call an ambulance. I got in a cab and went to the hospital.”

Mr. Godfrey’s experience exemplifies something a few AIDS specialists have long suspected, and cardiologists have now found evidence to support: People infected with H.I.V. have more heart attacks and have them earlier in life. Even patients whose infection is well suppressed by AIDS drugs are at higher risk.

Full Story: Heart attacks are much more frequent in HIV patients