Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of the National Medical Association logoLink to Journal of the National Medical Association
. 2005 Dec;97(12):1657–1661.

QTc interval prolongation in patients with HIV and AIDS.

Mahmoud U Sani 1, Basil N Okeahialam 1
PMCID: PMC2640718  PMID: 16396057

Abstract

A higher prevalence of QT prolongation has been reported among HIV/AIDS patients, possibly related to drugs prescribed for them or to an acquired form of long QT syndrome. A prolonged QTc is a predictor of cardiovascular mortality. We set out to study this interval in a group of AIDS patients. One-hundred consecutive AIDS patients admitted into the Jos University Teaching Hospital and who satisfied the inclusion criteria were recruited. All were evaluated for symptomatology of cardiovascular disease and had a 12-lead surface electrocardiogram recording. QT interval, taken from the onset of the QRS complex to the end of the T wave, was corrected for heart rate. Eighty HIV-negative, healthy persons and 78 HIV-positive, asymptomatic subjects were used as controls. Forty-five percent of the AIDS patients had prolonged QTc interval. Prolonged QTc was present in 28% of HIV-positive controls and 10% of HIV-negative controls. The mean QTc interval differs significantly between the AIDS patients and the two control groups. From our study, Nigerian HIV-positive asymptomatic subjects have higher prevalence of QTc prolongation compared to HIV-negative subjects and, as they move to AIDS, the prevalence of QTc prolongation increases. This makes for increased cardiovascular mortality.

Full text

PDF
1657

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alonso Jose Luis, Martínez Pablo, Vallverdú Montserrat, Cygankiewicz Iwona, Pitzalis Maria Vittoria, Bayés Genís Antoni, Cinca Juan, Rizzon Paolo, Caminal Pere, Zareba Wojciech. Dynamics of ventricular repolarization in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy versus healthy subjects. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol. 2005 Apr;10(2):121–128. doi: 10.1111/j.1542-474X.2005.05583.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anson Blake D., Weaver Joel G. R., Ackerman Michael J., Akinsete Omobosola, Henry Keith, January Craig T., Badley Andrew D. Blockade of HERG channels by HIV protease inhibitors. Lancet. 2005 Feb 19;365(9460):682–686. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)17950-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Castillo Ricardo, Pedalino Ronald P., El-Sherif Nabil, Turitto Gioia. Efavirenz-associated QT prolongation and Torsade de Pointes arrhythmia. Ann Pharmacother. 2002 Jun;36(6):1006–1008. doi: 10.1345/aph.1A454. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Eisenhauer M. D., Eliasson A. H., Taylor A. J., Coyne P. E., Jr, Wortham D. C. Incidence of cardiac arrhythmias during intravenous pentamidine therapy in HIV-infected patients. Chest. 1994 Feb;105(2):389–395. doi: 10.1378/chest.105.2.389. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fantoni M., Autore C., Del Borgo C. Drugs and cardiotoxicity in HIV and AIDS. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001 Nov;946:179–199. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03912.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hanrahan J. P., Choo P. W., Carlson W., Greineder D., Faich G. A., Platt R. Terfenadine-associated ventricular arrhythmias and QTc interval prolongation. A retrospective cohort comparison with other antihistamines among members of a health maintenance organization. Ann Epidemiol. 1995 May;5(3):201–209. doi: 10.1016/1047-2797(94)00039-v. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kocheril A. G., Bokhari S. A., Batsford W. P., Sinusas A. J. Long QTc and torsades de pointes in human immunodeficiency virus disease. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 1997 Nov;20(11):2810–2816. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1997.tb05439.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Longo-Mbenza B., Seghers K. V., Phuati M., Bikangi F. N., Mubagwa K. Heart involvement and HIV infection in African patients: determinants of survival. Int J Cardiol. 1998 Mar 13;64(1):63–73. doi: 10.1016/s0167-5273(97)00321-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lopez J. A., Harold J. G., Rosenthal M. C., Oseran D. S., Schapira J. N., Peter T. QT prolongation and torsades de pointes after administration of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Am J Cardiol. 1987 Feb 1;59(4):376–377. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(87)90824-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Luginbuhl L. M., Orav E. J., McIntosh K., Lipshultz S. E. Cardiac morbidity and related mortality in children with HIV infection. JAMA. 1993 Jun 9;269(22):2869–2875. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Prabhakar Manu, Krahn Andrew D. Ciprofloxacin-induced acquired long QT syndrome. Heart Rhythm. 2004 Nov;1(5):624–626. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2004.06.020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sakemi H., VanNatta B. Torsade de pointes induced by astemizole in a patient with prolongation of the QT interval. Am Heart J. 1993 May;125(5 Pt 1):1436–1438. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(93)91021-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sani Mahmoud U., Okeahialam Basil N., Aliyu Sani H., Enoch David A. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related heart disease: a review. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2005 Feb;117(3):73–81. doi: 10.1007/s00508-005-0313-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schouten E. G., Dekker J. M., Meppelink P., Kok F. J., Vandenbroucke J. P., Pool J. QT interval prolongation predicts cardiovascular mortality in an apparently healthy population. Circulation. 1991 Oct;84(4):1516–1523. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.84.4.1516. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Thomas S. H. Drugs, QT interval abnormalities and ventricular arrhythmias. Adverse Drug React Toxicol Rev. 1994 Summer;13(2):77–102. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Vallejo Camazón Nuria, Rodríguez Pardo Dolors, Sánchez Hidalgo Antonio, Tornos Mas María Pilar, Ribera Esteban, Soler Soler Jordi. Taquicardia ventricular y QT largo asociados a la administración de claritromicina en un paciente afectado de infección por el VIH. Rev Esp Cardiol. 2002 Aug;55(8):878–881. doi: 10.1016/s0300-8932(02)76720-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the National Medical Association are provided here courtesy of National Medical Association

RESOURCES