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Helicobacter pylori seropositivity in subjects with acute myocardial infarction
B Rathbone1, D Martin, J Stephens
1Department of Gastroenterology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.
Insights
Helicobacter pylori infection does not appear to increase the risk of myocardial infarction. This study found no significant association between H. pylori seropositivity and heart attack risk in patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common bacterial infection.
- The potential link between chronic infections and cardiovascular disease is an area of ongoing research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between Helicobacter pylori infection and the risk of myocardial infarction.
- To determine if H. pylori seropositivity is a risk factor for acute myocardial infarction.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted at a university teaching hospital.
- Serological evidence of H. pylori infection was assessed in 342 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 236 population-based controls.
- Logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for other cardiovascular risk factors.
Main Results:
- 60.2% of myocardial infarction cases and 55.9% of controls were positive for H. pylori.
- The odds ratio for myocardial infarction associated with H. pylori seropositivity was 1.05 (95% CI 0.7 to 1.53), which was not statistically significant.
- H. pylori seropositivity was not associated with other coronary risk factors.
Conclusions:
- No increased prevalence of H. pylori seropositivity was observed in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
- Previous H. pylori infection is unlikely to be a significant risk factor for acute myocardial infarction.
Objective:
To determine whether Helicobacter pylori infection increases the risk of myocardial infarction.
Design:
Case-control study.
Setting:
University teaching hospital.
Methods:
Serological evidence of H pylori infection was determined in 342 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction admitted into the coronary care unit and in 236 population-based controls recruited from visitors to patients on medical and surgical wards.
Results:
206/342 (60.2%) of cases were H pylori positive compared with 132/236 (55.9%) of controls (P = 0.30). Age and sex stratified odds ratio for myocardial infarction associated with H pylori seropositivity was 1.05 (95% CI 0.7 to 1.53, P = 0.87) and this remained non-significant (P = 0.46) when other risk factors for ischaemic heart disease were taken into account using logistic regression analysis. H pylori seropositivity was not associated with several coronary risk factors in either cases or controls.
Conclusion:
No increase was found in H pylori seropositivity in subjects with acute myocardial infarction. This suggests that previous H pylori infection is not a major risk factor for acute myocardial infarction.