Many cardiac complications in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) that may be faced by emergency department (ED) physicians are due to opportunistic infections or malignancy, but they may also be associated with other aspects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and its treatment (Table 1) [1].

The clinical expression of cardiac involvement is vari­able and is affected by the stage of HIV dis-

Table 1 cont.

HIV-associated cardiac disease	Cardiac emergencies
C. Fungal/yeast (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans)
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis	Systemic embolization (lung, brain, kidney, spleen) disseminated intravascular coagulopathy
Pericardial Pericardial effusion/pericarditis A. Infectious 1. Bacterial (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. avium intracellulare, Nocardia asteroides) 2. Viral (Coxsackievirus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, herpes virus) 3. Fungal (Histoplasma capsulatum, Cryptococcus neoformans)	Cardiac tamponade, arrhythmias, CHF (for chronic pericardial effusions)
B. Idiopathic (HIV, autoimmune)
C. Uremic
D. Neoplastic (Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma)

ease, the degree of immunodeficiency, and the drugs used to treat HIV disease-i.e., zidovudine and protease inhibitors (PIs) in the era of highly active antiretroviral thera­py (HAART) regimens-or to treat or prevent opportunistic infections and neoplasms (e.g., pentamidine, cotrimoxazole, interfer­on α) [2].

More on the topic Many cardiac complications in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) that may be faced by emergency department (ED) physicians are due to opportunistic infections or malignancy, but they may also be associated with other aspects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and its treatment (Table 1) [1].:

1. 16 SexuallyTransmitted Infections, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
2. Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
3. Neurological complications of HIV-1 infec­tion, due either to the immunosuppression (opportunistic infections and neoplasms) or the neurotropism of the virus, are common and add considerably to the morbidity and mortality of the infection
4. Cardiac Surgery and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
5. Cardiac Malignancy
6. The treatment of HIV infection can be largely divided into: (i) specific antiviral agents that inhibit viral replication, (ii) measures that either treat or prevent (prophylaxis) its complications — namely opportunistic infections and tumours.
7. Pediatric Emergency Department Considerations
8. Pediatric Emergency Department Considerations
9. Management of Cardiac Complications
10. OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS
11. Pathology of Cardiac Complications in HIV Infection
12. Opportunistic Infections
13. In 1983, the virus that came to be called the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was discovered in human blood samples.
14. Opportunistic infections