Lifetime Cardiovascular Risk Among Persons Living with HIV in the U.S.

Persons living with HIV, even those who are virally suppressed, are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but little is known about the lifetime CVD risk at the population level. Using a simulation model, investigators estimated the lifetime CVD risk for persons living with HIV who are in care and virally suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

According to the model, by age 60 the CVD risk would be 20.5% for men and 13.8% for women who are HIV-infected, compared with 12.8% for men and 9.4% for women in the general population. The factor that most affected CVD risk for those infected with HIV was CD4 count at presentation to care. The lifetime CVD risk for HIV-infected men was 64.8% compared with 54.8% for men in the U.S. g…