HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. People infected with HIV, usually spread through bodily fluids from unprotected sex or shared needles for drug use, don’t always have AIDS. HIV symptoms can be dormant (non-active) for years, though many experience flu-like symptoms shortly after becoming infected. There is no cure for HIV, which is diagnosed with a blood test.
Pulmonary complications are exceedingly common among patients infected with HIV. Moreover, the longer life expectancy of HIV-infected individuals has led to the recognition of many infectious and non-infectious pulmonary complications, including the well-established association between HIV and pulmonary hypertension (HIV-PH). The practice is the referral group for all HIV providers within Boston Medical Center for evaluation and treatment of the pulmonary and mycobacterial complications that occur in HIV-infected individuals.