Patterns of myocardial strain are unique in HIV+ patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with impaired cardiac function beyond what is expected from coronary artery disease alone. Our aim in the current study was to compare myocardial strain in a cohort HIV+ patients and uninfected controls with adjudicated heart failure (HF) using cardiovascular MRI feature tracking. Our results demonstrate unique Ecc and Err strain patterns in HIV+ patients, with relative apical sparing in HIV+ patients with EF>50%, but relative mid-LV and global strain reduction in HIV+ patients with EF<50%. This constellation of findings suggests that patterns of myocardial functional impairment may be unique in HIV+ HF patients.