[A clinical study of cardiac manifestations related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Kinsaha]. / Etude clinique des manifestations cardiaques au cours du syndrome d'immunodéficience acquise (sida) à Kinshasa.

A prospective study was performed from march 31 st 1991 to september 30th 1992 on cardiac involvement in course of AIDS. Clinical, electric, sonographic and radiologic aspects were analysed within 83 patients of the study. In this cohort, 45.8% of patients had shown a cardiac involvement through all strates and respectively: a pericarditis with effusion in 24 patients (27.7%), a dilated cardiomyopathy in 14 patients (16.9%) and infective endocarditis in 1 patient (1.2%). Dispncea between classes II and IV of NYHA was the main complaint. Tachycardia, silent cardiac sounds and congestive heart failure were the prominent features of the clinical examination of the cohort. Because of the likely high prevalence of cardiac manifestations in course of AIDS, clinicians and researchers have to pay attention to this situation.