People with an AIDS diagnosis have a higher risk of dying following a hospital admission for an acute myocardial infarction (AMI, or heart attack) or stroke compared with HIV-negative individuals. Publishing their findings in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers studied data on 18,369,785 AMI and stroke hospitalizations recorded in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 2002 and 2012.

People with an AIDS diagnosis were 3.03 times more likely to die following a hospital admission for AMI and 2.59 times more likely to die following admission for a stroke compared with HIV-negative individuals. People with an AIDS diagnosis were 3.14 times more likely to be discharged to nonhospital inpatient facilities after an AMI-related admission and 1.45 times more likely to experience this outcome following a stroke-related admission than HIV-negative individuals. The difference in either outcome was minimal between HIV-positive people without an AIDS diagnosis and HIV-negative individuals.

The researchers concluded that their findings implied “that preserving immune function may improve cardiovascular outcomes in HIV-infected persons.”

To read the study abstract, click here.