['Patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease than healthy subjects, but little is known about cardiac function in asymptomatic and treatment-naïve patients. We sought to study cardiac function in asymptomatic HIV-infected, treatment-naïve patients.', 'We studied 41 HIV-infected and treatment-naïve patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Patients with cardiac symptoms, history of cardiac disease or NT-proBNP >100\xa0pg/mL were excluded. We addressed cardiac function using standard echocardiography along with tissue Doppler (TDI) measurements, including strain/strain rate assessment.', 'Standard echocardiographic parameters did not differ between groups, except for transmitral E wave velocity (64.8\xa0±\xa014\xa0cm/s in HIV vs 76.1\xa0±\xa010\xa0cm/s in controls, p\xa0=\xa00.002). In contrast, TDI mitral and tricuspid annulus s velocity and all strain/strain rate measurements were significantly lower in HIV patients: s lateral, 10.2\xa0±\xa02.4/11.3\xa0±\xa00.7, p\xa0=\xa00.011; s septal, 8.1\xa0±\xa01.6/8.7\xa0±\xa00.8, p\xa0=\xa00.045; s tricuspid, 13.4\xa0±\xa02.3/14.9\xa0±\xa01.3, p\xa0=\xa00.002; strain/strain rate, septal (strain/strain rate, 15.1\xa0±\xa05.7/-0.9\xa0±\xa00.3, 25.3\xa0±\xa01.7/-1.9\xa0±\xa00.2, p\xa0<\xa00.001), anterior (16.7\xa0±\xa03/-1.0\xa0±\xa00.1, 26.7\xa0±\xa01.7/-1.9\xa0±\xa00.2, p\xa0<\xa00.001), lateral (16.0\xa0±\xa06/-1.0\xa0±\xa00.1, 27.5\xa0±\xa01.8/-2.2\xa0±\xa00.3, p\xa0<\xa00.001) and posterior (15.2\xa0±\xa05.8/-1.0\xa0±\xa00.2, 26.2\xa0±\xa01.8/-2.2\xa0±\xa00.3, p\xa0<\xa00.001) left ventricular wall.'] Does myocardial deformation imaging unmask subtle left ventricular systolic dysfunction in asymptomatic and treatment-naïve HIV patients?