Cardiac Abnormalities of People Living with HIV: A Comparative Study Between HAART Experience and Treatment Naïve Groups in Ghana

PURPOSE: This study determined electrocardiographic and echocardiographic abnormalities of people living with HIV (PLWHIV); comparing the findings of PLWHIV on HAART versus treatment naïve groups. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a prospective cross-sectional study, we recruited 157 PLWHIV on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and 28 HAART naïve PLWHIV. Clinical examination, electrocardiography and echocardiography were performed on study participants at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. Sociodemographic data and information about the use of HAART or otherwise was obtained. The Chi and Fisher Exact tests were used to find the significance of difference in proportions of abnormalities between PLWHIV on HAART and treatment naïve groups. Statistical analyses were performed on SPSS version 25.0 and GraphPad Prism version 8.0. P-values less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Echocardiographic abnormalities in the HAART and treatment naïve groups were 54.1% and 60.7%, respectively. Electrographic abnormalities in the HAART and treatment naïve groups were 45.9% and 50%, respectively. Sinus bradycardia was the most prevalent ECG abnormality in the treatment naïve. Nonspecific T-wave changes (36.1%) and sinus tachycardia (30.6%) were the most common ECG abnormalities seen in HAART treated group. The common echocardiographic abnormalities were pulmonary hypertension (22.7%), pericardial effusion (22.2%) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (17.8%). There was no significant difference in the proportions of echocardiographic abnormalities between PLWHIV on HAART and the treatment naïve groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Cardiac abnormalities are common in PLWHIV regardless of treatment with HAART. Echocardiographic and electrographic assessments are highly recommended for all PLWHIV.