Hard on Your Heart

Need another reason to minimize controllable risk factors for heart disease? Researchers reported at the 16th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections that HIV infection alone boosts the risks for hardening of the arteries as much as'or even more than'such common cardiac risk factors as smoking, having diabetes, and aging. The researchers believe that inflammation caused by HIV damages blood vessel linings and causes atherosclerosis, which boosts risks for heart attacks and strokes.