How secure should you feel if your doctor tells you that your cholesterol levels are normal?
Are you immune to heart disease because you were told you have normal cholesterol levels?
If you have been a reader of my blog for any time, you should know that cholesterol is not the culprit we have all been led to believe.
Remember, half the folks who die of a heart attack never have high cholesterol.
There are other more critical markers to consider if you want to know your risk of getting a heart attack or stroke.
Again, remember correcting elevated cholesterol does not guarantee immunity from a heart attack.
Today, I was hoping you could learn one unappreciated cause of silent coronary artery disease.
This silent cause is from a bacteria called Chlamydia.
4 out of 5 coronary artery plaques examined contain antibodies to this bug.
Chlamydia is a bacterial pathogen that will eat away at your coronary arteries.
Tests like C-Reactive Protein (CRPhs) and fibrinogen are indicators of raging inflammation or hidden infection, signaling the need to check for, among other things, Chlamydia.
I also recommend you rule out Chlamydia if you have a high calcium score. Click Here to read more about the calcium score.
You may be wondering how do you get Chlamydia?
This bug is a common cause of colds, flu, or bronchitis, and we’ve all had these.
But this is not the end of the story for some folks, for the coronary plaque can emerge decades after a common cold.
Again if you have coronary artery plaque found from a Heart Scan (calcium score), elevated hsCRP, and/or fibrinogen, your next step is to get the antibody test to Chlamydia pneumoniae.
Not many doctors, including cardiologists, are familiar with Chlamydia as a diagnosable and treatable cause of coronary artery plaque.
You now have increased knowledge to prevent or minimize your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Linnanmaki E, et al., Chlamydia pneumonia—Specific Circulating Immune Complexes in Patients with Chronic Coronary Heart Disease, Circulation, 87:1130-34, 1993
Gupta S, et al, The effect of azithromycin in post-myocardial infarction patients with elevated Chlamydia pneumoniae antibody titers, J Am Coll Cardiol, 29:209a, 1997
Gupta S, et al., Elevated Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies, cardiovascular events, and azithromycin in male survivors of myocardial infarction, Circulation, 96:404-07, 1997
Vojdani A, A look at infectious agents as a possible causative factor in cardiovascular disease: part II, Lab Med, 4; 34: 5-9, April 2003
Bachmaier K, et al, Chlamydia infections and heart disease linked through antigenic mimicry, Sci, 5406; 283: 1335-39, Feb 26, 1999
Muhlestein JB, et al, Increased incidence of Chlamydia species within the coronary arteries of patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic versus other forms of cardiovascular disease, J Am Coll Cardiol, 27:1555-61, 1996