PI: Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD
Sponsor: NIH
Study summary:
Heart and lung complications are now a leading cause of disability and death in the HIV patient. Shortness of breath and exercise limitation are frequently reported in the HIV patient. It is very common to miss a serious disorder called pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) that is more common in the HIV patient and often not diagnosed until late in the disease.
PAH in HIV is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, and is thought to have the worst prognosis of any subtype of PAH. We will study the heart and lung responses in HIV using echocardiography (heart ultrasound) and a unique magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible exercise treadmill. The results from this study may allow early identification of right heart disease and answer questions about heart and lung responses with exercise in HIV patients and new strategies to prevent pulmonary artery hypertension.
This single center observational study will recruit participants from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.