According to researchers, people living with HIV are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), predominantly heart failure and stroke.

Study lead author Alvaro Alonso from Emory University in the US have said that the findings of the a recent study emphasize the importance of primary prevention of cardiovascular disease through control of risk factors such as high blood pressure or smoking in people living with HIV.

The study had analyzed information from a large health insurance database and is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers had analyzed information on 19,798 people living with HIV and 59,302 age- and sex-matched non-infected individuals who were followed for an average of 20 months for the study.

People living with HIV had 3.2 times and 2.7 times higher risks of heart failure and stroke, respectively, when compared to non-infected persons, according to the researchers.

The study stated that the association of HIV infection with cardiovascular disease was especially strong for people younger than 50 years of age and those without an earlier history of CVD.

Though, people living with HIV did not have an increased risk of peripheral artery disease and had moderately increased risk of heart attack or atrial fibrillation.