Anti-HIV medicines prescribed for HIV-positive pregnant women can lead to long-term heart defects in babies they carry, new research unveils. 
"What our study indicates is that there's potentially a long-term price to be paid for protecting the children of HIV-infected mothers from the virus," said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz. "These medicines have been very effective at reducing the rate of transmission of HIV from mother to child but the findings we've just published show clearly that further investigation of their long-term impact on the heart health of the children involved is needed."
The study compared heart development and long-term heart functioning in 428 uninfected children of HIV-infected mothers to children who had not been exposed to HIV from 2007 to 2012. The team found a significant association between lagging heart muscle development and impaired pumping ability in the children of the HIV-infected mothers who had received the medications.
The study was published in the journal AIDS.
Source: Toronto Sun
Image: Getty
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