Ana Maria Tudor 1, Ioana Anca 2, Monica Luminos 1, Mariana Mărdărescu 3
1 University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” Bucharest, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Matei Balş” Bucharest, Romania
2 University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” Bucharest, Institute for Mother and Child Care „Alfred Rusescu” Bucharest, Romania
3 National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Matei Bals” Bucharest, Romania
Abstract
Even though cardiac disease is not frequent in HIV infected children, it is associated with poor prognosis. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most frequent heart disease associated with HIV infection. In HIV children the most frequent cardiac lesion is dysfunction and/or enlarged dimensions of the left ventricle. The pathogenesis is complex, the most important factor is HIV itself. Human immunodeficiency virus can affect the heart directly or by secondary chronic inflammation and immune activation. We present a case of an HIV-infected teenager diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and the evolution of heart disease during antiretroviral therapy.