Infectious and coronary artery disease.
BACKGROUND
Atherosclerotic event is one of the most causes of death in the world. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one manifestation of atherosclerosis. It is well-known that several risk factors, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), smoking, hypertension (HTN), have effects on it. It is proposed that infection can lead to atherosclerosis or even make its process faster. Here, we discuss about the effect of some of infectious agents on the atherosclerosis and CAD.


METHODS
In this study, first we did a comprehensive search in PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct using some related keywords such as atherosclerosis, CAD, myocardial infarction (MI), infection, and name of viruses and bacteria. After finding the related papers, we reviewed the correlation between some microbial agents and risk of CAD.


RESULTS
Literature has reported several infectious agents (viruses, bacteria, and parasites) that can be associated with risk of CAD. This association for some of them like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Chlamydia pneumonia (C. pneumoniae), and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a very strong. On the other hand, there are some other agents like influenza that still need to be more investigated through original studies. Furthermore, different mechanisms (general and special) have been reported for the association of each agent with CAD.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on the studies in databases and our literature review, it is so clear that some microbes and infectious agents can be involved in the process of atherosclerosis. Therefore, controlling each type of infections especially among people with a traditional risk factor for atherosclerosis should be taken into account for reducing the risk of CAD and atherosclerosis.
Researcher, Student Research Committee AND Atherosclerosis Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Saeid
MS
Rezaee-Zavareh
Researcher, Student Research Committee AND Atherosclerosis Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Tohidi
Researcher, Student Research Committee AND Atherosclerosis Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Amin
A
Sabouri
Researcher, Student Research Committee AND Atherosclerosis Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahdi
M
Ramezani-Binabaj
Assistant Professor, Atherosclerosis Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohsen
M
Sadeghi-Ghahrodi
Professor, Nephrology and Urology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Behzad
B
Einollahi
Atherosclerosis; Coronary Artery Disease; Infection