HIV as a risk factor of coronary artery disease and of acute coronary syndrome

The number of HIV positive patients in the developed and developing countries is ever growing. Apart from the obvious implications of HIV such as AIDS development, other potentially lethal complications may arise, one of which is the effect of HIV affliction on the coronary system. HIV patients may develop coronary artery disease at a very young age and the myocardial infarction in these patients can be hard to correctly diagnose at the beginning due to the often confusing clinical picture. This paper summarizes the current knowledge on the association between HIV and coronary artery disease and illustrates it on two case reports.