Attempts to detect Helicobacter pylori in atherosclerotic plaques

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are regarded to be the main causes of mortality in developed countries, atherosclerosis being at their pathological base. During the recent years, attention was paid to the role of bacterial infections, including Helicobacter pylori, in the process of atherogenesis and coronary heart disease development. The aim of the study was an evaluation of H. pylori presence--by means of PCR technique--in atherosclerotic changes, obtained by endarterectomy, performed during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In the analysed group of patients, the following risk factors were found: hyperlipidaemia, smoking, hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, cardiac infarction. No DNA of the bacteria was traced in any of the patients.