Researchers in Austria have shown that a wide variety of microbes can trigger an autoimmune reaction against the cells lining our arteries.
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in Western countries.
As we age, our arteries often become clogged up with fatty deposits called plaques. This narrows the artery, leading to strokes or heart attacks. More recently, it has emerged that the disease begins when the artery walls become inflamed. But now it seems that rather than a single pathogen being responsible, a whole host of bugs may be involved. This month, Stephen Epstein of Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC told a meeting of the European Atherosclerosis Society in Geneva that the more chronic infections you have, including the viruses hepatitis A, herpes and cytomegalovirus, and the bacteria Chlamydia and Helicobacter, the more likely you are to have atherosclerosis.