Association of Infection with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus and Myocardial Infarction in People Living with HIV in the United States.

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH). Extrahepatic manifestations of HCV, including myocardial infarction (MI), are a topic of active research. MI is classified into types, predominantly atheroembolic Type 1 MI (T1MI) and supply-demand mismatch Type 2 MI (T2MI). We examined the association between HCV and MI in the Centers for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems, a multi-center clinical cohort of PLWH. MIs were centrally adjudicated and categorized by type using the Universal MI definition. We estimated the association between chronic HCV (RNA+) and time to MI adjusting for demographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, clinical characteristics and history of injecting drug use. Among 23,407 PLWH aged ≥18, there were 336 T1MI and 330 T2MI during a median of 4.7 years of follow-up during 1998 through 2016. HCV was associated with a 46% greater risk of T2MI (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.46, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.97) but not T1MI (aHR 0.87, 95% CI: 0.58, 1.29). In an exploratory cause-specific analysis of T2MI, HCV was associated with a 2-fold greater risk of T2MI attributed to sepsis (aHR 2.01, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.24). Extrahepatic manifestations of HCV in this high-risk population are an important area for continued research.