Thursday, 28 March, 2024
HomeCardiologyEven mild CVB infection linked with later-life heart disease

Even mild CVB infection linked with later-life heart disease

There is epidemiological evidence that links type B coxsackie virus (CVB) infection with heart disease, and research now suggests a mechanism by which early infection impairs the heart’s ability to tolerate stress at later stages of life, reports [s]Science Newsline[/s]. The researchers from [b]San Diego State University[/b], led by Roberta Gottlieb and Ralph Feuer, found that 70 – 80% of patients with heart failure show signs of a previous CVB infection but have no history of viral heart disease, raising the possibility that even a mild earlier infection makes them more vulnerable to get heart disease later on. They suggest that ‘the subtle cardiac alterations might go undetected under normal circumstances but emerge in the setting of increased demand, such as intense exercise or chronic high blood pressure’.

[link url=http://www.sciencenewsline.com/articles/2014073122540024.html]Full Science Newsline report[/link]
[link url=http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1004249]PLOS Pathogens abstract[/link]

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