Incidence of dilated cardiomyopathy and detection of HIV in myocardial cells of HIV-positive patients

HIV seems capable of infecting heart cells and causing various types of heart disease. Researchers followed 952 HIV patients for an average of five years. During that time, 8% of the patients developed dilated cardiomyopathy, which is an early sign of heart failure. Most of these patients also had myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle. T cells were found in biopsy samples of heart tissue, indicating a possible autoimmune attack. HIV was also found in some samples. It is not clear whether HIV attacks heart cells directly or causes an autoimmune response.