Chlamydia and Coronary Heart Disease

Heart disease is one of the most prevalent diseases in this day and age and is more prevalent in men than in women. Lets have a brief look at some studies that researched the possibility of CHD and Chlamydia.

Coronary heart diseases are caused by hardening or clogging of arteries leading to blockages due to the building up of cholesterol and other fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries. This clogging of arteries leads to unregulated supply of blood to the heart and leads to severe repercussions depending on the extent of the clog. If the supply of blood and oxygen is thus disrupted, it can lead to chest pain and if the supply is cut of entirely, it can lead to heart attacks. This hardening of arteries is clinically termed as Atherosclerosis.

Allegedly, the most prominent medical causants of heart disease have been Tobacco, Hypertension, Alcohol excess, Obesity, Hyperlipidemia, Chest Radiotherapy etc,  which,  for decades been mainly held responsible for heart diseases. The other factors which were till this point in time, were held responsible for heart diseases are some chronic infections such as, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, dental sepsis and herpes viruses which lead to atherosclerosis, but the contribution of these viruses to heart aches have not been entirely validated so far.

Recent studies have figured the role of a pathogen called Chlamydia leading to Atherosclerosis. A sub type of Chlamydia called Chlamydia pneumonia, also now referred to as the “heart attack germ” invigorates the heart disease.  In an analysis of 18 seroepidemiological studies, it has been found that people with more antibodies against Chlamydia Pneumonia stand twice the number of chances of falling to coronary heart diseases

In 1988 another group of researchers in Finland reached the same conclusion and found out that patients with immune complexes containing Chlamydia pneumonia (CP) had high chances of coronary heart disease in subsequent six months time, making the link between CP and heart abrasions more prominent.

Samples of plaques from arteries have shown microphages that constitute the lipid base of plaque that leads to congestion. In another study samples were taken to reach to a conclusion that 71 out of 90 samples with patients of angina- leading to chest pain, CP was prevalent in ample measure making the association between CP and Coronary heart diseases susceptibility.

Though these studies have identified the presence of CP in patients with heart diseases, it is still not substantial enough to prove this coexistence as reactive instead of being just co-incidental. CP also may lead to inflammations leading to congestions and may lead to endothelial cell damage and plaque formation but these remain invalidated and incidental coexistence and there is not enough evidence of CP being a definitive initiator of heart disease.