HIV linked to higher chance of heart attack

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People with HIV are almost 50 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who aren't infected with the virus – even after taking into account their other health risks, according to a new study. Researchers aren't sure what explains the higher heart attack rate in HIV-positive people, but they speculate it's a combination of the effects of HIV itself and the antiretroviral drugs used to treat it. "It's a complicated picture," said Dr. Matthew Freiberg, who led the new study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. …