Finland scientists and the United Kingdom have discovered innovative evidence that heart attacks can be triggered by hidden bacteria inside the plate, a sticky accumulation of substances such as cholesterol and fat found in blood vessels that distribute blood rich in oxygen throughout the body.
They discovered that the latent layers of bacterial biofilm inside the plates, when released due to a viral infection or other external stress, can trigger heart attacks.
Once activated, bacteria trigger inflammation and make the plaques break, which leads to the formation of dangerous blood clots and, in severe cases, a heart attack.
A heart attack is a potentially deadly condition that requires immediate medical attention.
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Survival depends on the severity of heart attack, the speed of medical care and other factors such as age. Many survivors continue to wear productive lives.
Using a variety of advanced methodologies, research found that the accumulation of fats and cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels can house latent bacteria for years or even decades, contributing to coronary heart disease, the main cause of heart attacks.
For the study, the researchers obtained samples of arterial plates, cholesterol deposits and other debris that can accumulate along the blood vessels, of the people who had died due to sudden cardiac death, as well as patients who had their plaques surgically removed.
Using several methods, including genetic sequencing, several groups of bacteria housed inside these plates identified. This work is part of an extensive cardiovascular research project funded by the EU that involves 11 countries.
Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the results of the investigation defy the conventional understanding of heart attacks and opens new possibilities for the treatment, diagnosis and even the development of the vaccine.
Professor Pekka Karhuisen, who directed the study, points out that until now, it was supposed to lead to coronary heart disease only by low density oxidized lipoprotein (LDL), a type of cholesterol.
He said that bacterial participation in coronary heart disease has been suspected for a long time, but convincing evidence has lacked.
According to him, “our study demonstrated the presence of genetic material, DNA, of several oral bacteria within atherosclerotic plates.”
The researchers declared that the study can eventually lead to new methods to prevent or treat heart attacks.
While this discovery does not suggest that traditional heart attack factors are overlooked, it can pave the way for the development of new diagnostic tools that detect biofilms.
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