November 7, 2000
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Three studies to be published on Tuesday strengthen theories that infections may be linked with heart disease in some cases.
People infected with herpes simplex, the virus that causes cold sores, were twice as likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease as uninfected people, one study found.
A second study found that bacteria linked with heart disease ride into the circulatory system in immune-system cells. A third found that patients with symptoms of infection had poorer blood flow and were more likely to suffer the blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes.