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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Study links heart disease to Chlamydia

A type of chlamydia infection that often leads to pneumonia may also be linked to serious heart attacks in young men, according to a recent study.

The study, which appears in the current issue of Clinical Infectious Disease, was completed by the University of Wisconsin Medical School in collaboration with a Johns Hopkins University research team.

The infection is not from the sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis, but rather its cousin, Chlamydia pneumoniae. The C. pneumoniae version is more widespread and is a common cause of human respiratory disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

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“This chlamydia infection is not the same type of chlamydia most people think of — it is from the same family. [The infection] is not transmitted sexually, but rather through the air,” explained UW assistant professor of population health sciences Christine Arcari, the lead researcher for the study.

The link between the C. pneumoniae infection and heart attacks has been studied previously in the past but results have been inconclusive, Arcari said. Unlike the previous tests in which the experimental subjects were all older men, this research team chose test subjects from a younger generation.

The researchers studied the medical records of men in the United States Army between the ages of 30 and 50, identifying 300 of whom had been hospitalized for acute myocardial infarctions and 300 controls who had no history of heart disease.

Since there is no way to directly test the effects of the C. pneumoniae infection in the men, the researchers instead took blood samples to search for the presence of two antibodies called IgA and IgG. Specific levels of these antibodies may indicate previous exposure to the chlamydia bacteria, according to a release.

After lengthy analysis of the data, the researchers discovered that high levels of the IgA antibody are associated with serious heart attacks.

“We are trying to figure out if some of these infections in the long run contribute to having a heart attack at a young age,” said co-author Javier Nieto, chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at UW Medical School.

The team is now focusing on what triggers the infection to act as a catalyst in heart disease in some cases while triggering only a common cold in others.

“Our research is trying to give us clues why heart disease occurs in some and not others, and we are trying to find the cause and prevent it,” Nieto added.

The researchers said other evidence also suggests bacterial infections may trigger inflammatory responses or autoimmune reactions leading to the buildup of plaques and the hardening of arties, which eventually lead to heart attacks.

By the time most people reach age 65, they are almost guaranteed to have had Chlamydia pneumoniae, and many will not have even known, Arcari added.

“Sometimes there are no symptoms at all, or it feels like you have a common cold or bronchitis. It can prove very severe for those with compromised immune systems, however, like people who have AIDS,” Nieto said. “But usually it is just like the many viruses we contract throughout winter.”

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