Summary
PROJECT SUMMARY Although antiretroviral therapy drugs (ART) have prevented HIV propagation and increased life expectancy of people with HIV (PWH), the rate of sudden death in this population is 2-4-times higher than people without HIV. Autopsies have revealed cardiac fibrosis in half of this HIV patient population, a likely etiology for sudden death. The protease inhibitor class ART (PI-ART) is linked to cardiovascular risk in PWH, and it is plausible that ART can exacerbate the risk by inducing cardiac fibrosis. Our long-term goals are to determine the mechanism and the impact of ART-induced
