Unsuspected cardiac abnormalities in the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. An echocardiographic study.

To investigate the frequency of unsuspected cardiac abnormalities in AIDS, M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms were performed on 27 homosexual males with this syndrome. Twenty-one homosexual males without the disease were used as controls. Subjects with clinical heart disease or a history of intravenous drug abuse were excluded. Fractional shortening was reduced in eight patients (30 percent) and in one control (5 percent) (p less than 0.05). Pericardial effusions were found in seven patients (26 percent); one control subject had a small effusion (5 percent) (p = 0.05). Overall, echocardiographic abnormalities were found in 13 of 27 patients (48 percent) compared with 2 of 21 control subjects (10 percent) (p less than 0.02). We conclude that although often not diagnosed clinically, the incidence of cardiac involvement in AIDS is high.