In the past few years disturbing reports have begun to
accumulate about young, relatively healthy HIV positive men who
have developed heart disease or suffered heart attacks.
Researchers and health-care providers treating people with HIV
are taking these reports seriously, and increasing attention has
been devoted to cardiovascular disease at recent medical
conferences. It remains to be determined whether these
cardiovascular manifestations are attributable to HIV infection
itself, to antiretroviral drug therapy, to a high prevalence
among HIV positive people of traditional risk factors that pose
a danger for the population at large -- such as tobacco smoking,
older age, male sex, and family history -- or to some other not-
yet-known factors. Heart disease in people with HIV remains
poorly understood and continues to generate considerable fear
and controversy. But there is good reason to believe that
common-sense risk reduction strategies can help delay or prevent
cardiovascular problems such as atherosclerosi