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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Re: Chlamydia pneumoniae/H. pylori/cytomegalovirus
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Re: Chlamydia pneumoniae/H. pylori/cytomegalovirus
by CCF CARDIO MD DLB, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on September 30, 1998 at 15:38:14:
In Reply to: Chlamydia pneumoniae/H. pylori/cytomegalovirus posted by Gordon Magee on September 30, 1998 at 14:54:00:
: After reading some information from a couple of e-mail services, and doing
: research in medical research engines I am wondering about the helpfulness
: taking an antibiotic treatment to rid the body, particularly of the
: chlamydia p. to do away with the "smoldering inflammation" as it has been
: called.
Any opinions on whether this may be effective?
I am 47 and had my first MI at 39, another at 43, and have had 4 angioplasties,
: the last on in Feb, which included 3 stents.
Doing fine, playing basketball etc, but am hopefull of stopping the progression
: of the atherosclerosis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Gordon
At this point in time, I would not recommend taking antibiotics. They are expensive, have potential side effects, and their indiscriminate use breeds resistant organisms that go on to cause serious disease. There is no convincing evidence that infection plays a role in human coronary artery disease. Inflammation definitely occurs within atherosclerotic plaque, but the link to infection has not been made as of yet. In addition, the epidemiological studies are conflicting regarding the role of infectious agents in heart disease.
I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.
If you wish to be evaluated here at the Cleveland Clinic, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE for an appointment with a cardiologist at Desk F15. Information provided in the Heart Forum is for general purposes only. Specific diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your doctor.
Dear Doctor: Thanks for the quick response. Given the relatively rapid progression
of my disease, I am wanting to do whatever I can to arrest it, as I am sure you
can imagine. I am in agreement about the use of antibiotics and the care that
must be taken.
In reading some of the abstracts at the Medline web site after doing a search on
chlamydia, it would appear that the evidence is mounting strongly in favor of
their being linkage between chlamydia pn. and atherosclerosis . In addition,
several professional medical journals in the past year have published information
of studies that, while not being fully conclusive, point strongly toward a link.
In that the progression of my disease is such that I have about a 5 year window
before I am likely to have need for another procedure, and in that I would like
to avoid by-pass surgery, I have begun the antiobiotic treatment now, rather than
wait for the test results. I know that even if a link is definitively identified
, it will NOT be the single cause for heart disease and that taking antiobiotics
is not something every one should do.
However, who would have imagined just a few years ago, the amazing results with
ulcers being treated with antibiotics.
Perhaps VEG-F injections will be the norm for some one like me in 5 or 6 years.
I would be interested in any comments you may have about VEG-F injections and
their viability as a major heart disease treatment in the coming years.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness in responding. I can't tell you how helpful
it is to be able to access through the internet, top notch information from
which to make informed decisions.
You are appreciated, as is this over all information service.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Gordon
I fully understand your desire to try and halt the progression of coronary disease. I am aware of the literature on infection (in particular, Chlamydia pneumoniae) and coronary disease. In fact, I am working on a basic science project that is looking at the role of Chlamydia in causing coronary artery plaque formation and possible heart attacks. Nonetheless, I would not recommend long-term treatment with any medicine, including antibiotics, until it is proven to be safe and effective. The history of medicine is full of examples of drugs that looked like miracle cures, only to turn out to be useless (or dangerous). I am curious, what antibiotic do you plan to take, at what dose, and for how long?
We at the Cleveland Clinic are involved with clinical trials of VEGF in patients who are not candidates for angioplasty or bypass surgery. I do think that some version of "gene therapy" will play a role in treating advanced coronary artery disease. I think meaningful clinical applications are still several years away. I am also concerned about targeting the therapy so that new blood vessels form in the heart, as opposed to the eye or a budding cancer. However, I am optimistic about a number of new therapies in the next few years, for people just like you.
I am assuming that you have had things like your LDL and HDL cholesterol measured (and treated). How about the more esoteric tests, such as a homocysteine level?
I hope this is useful. Feel free to write back. I wish you the best of luck.
If you would like to set up an appointment with one of our cardiologists here at the Cleveland Clinic please feel free to call 1-800-CCF-CARE.
Information provided in the Heart Forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only. Actual diagnosis and treatment of any particular medical condition can only be made by your physician(s).
In Reply to: Chlamydia pneumoniae/H. pylori/cytomegalovirus posted by Gordon Magee on September 30, 1998 at 14:54:00:
: After reading some information from a couple of e-mail services, and doing
: research in medical research engines I am wondering about the helpfulness
: taking an antibiotic treatment to rid the body, particularly of the
: chlamydia p. to do away with the "smoldering inflammation" as it has been
: called.
Any opinions on whether this may be effective?
I am 47 and had my first MI at 39, another at 43, and have had 4 angioplasties,
: the last on in Feb, which included 3 stents.
Doing fine, playing basketball etc, but am hopefull of stopping the progression
: of the atherosclerosis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Gordon
At this point in time, I would not recommend taking antibiotics. They are expensive, have potential side effects, and their indiscriminate use breeds resistant organisms that go on to cause serious disease. There is no convincing evidence that infection plays a role in human coronary artery disease. Inflammation definitely occurs within atherosclerotic plaque, but the link to infection has not been made as of yet. In addition, the epidemiological studies are conflicting regarding the role of infectious agents in heart disease.
I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.
If you wish to be evaluated here at the Cleveland Clinic, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE for an appointment with a cardiologist at Desk F15. Information provided in the Heart Forum is for general purposes only. Specific diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your doctor.
Dear Doctor: Thanks for the quick response. Given the relatively rapid progression
of my disease, I am wanting to do whatever I can to arrest it, as I am sure you
can imagine. I am in agreement about the use of antibiotics and the care that
must be taken.
In reading some of the abstracts at the Medline web site after doing a search on
chlamydia, it would appear that the evidence is mounting strongly in favor of
their being linkage between chlamydia pn. and atherosclerosis . In addition,
several professional medical journals in the past year have published information
of studies that, while not being fully conclusive, point strongly toward a link.
In that the progression of my disease is such that I have about a 5 year window
before I am likely to have need for another procedure, and in that I would like
to avoid by-pass surgery, I have begun the antiobiotic treatment now, rather than
wait for the test results. I know that even if a link is definitively identified
, it will NOT be the single cause for heart disease and that taking antiobiotics
is not something every one should do.
However, who would have imagined just a few years ago, the amazing results with
ulcers being treated with antibiotics.
Perhaps VEG-F injections will be the norm for some one like me in 5 or 6 years.
I would be interested in any comments you may have about VEG-F injections and
their viability as a major heart disease treatment in the coming years.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness in responding. I can't tell you how helpful
it is to be able to access through the internet, top notch information from
which to make informed decisions.
You are appreciated, as is this over all information service.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Gordon
I fully understand your desire to try and halt the progression of coronary disease. I am aware of the literature on infection (in particular, Chlamydia pneumoniae) and coronary disease. In fact, I am working on a basic science project that is looking at the role of Chlamydia in causing coronary artery plaque formation and possible heart attacks. Nonetheless, I would not recommend long-term treatment with any medicine, including antibiotics, until it is proven to be safe and effective. The history of medicine is full of examples of drugs that looked like miracle cures, only to turn out to be useless (or dangerous). I am curious, what antibiotic do you plan to take, at what dose, and for how long?
We at the Cleveland Clinic are involved with clinical trials of VEGF in patients who are not candidates for angioplasty or bypass surgery. I do think that some version of "gene therapy" will play a role in treating advanced coronary artery disease. I think meaningful clinical applications are still several years away. I am also concerned about targeting the therapy so that new blood vessels form in the heart, as opposed to the eye or a budding cancer. However, I am optimistic about a number of new therapies in the next few years, for people just like you.
I am assuming that you have had things like your LDL and HDL cholesterol measured (and treated). How about the more esoteric tests, such as a homocysteine level?
I hope this is useful. Feel free to write back. I wish you the best of luck.
If you would like to set up an appointment with one of our cardiologists here at the Cleveland Clinic please feel free to call 1-800-CCF-CARE.
Information provided in the Heart Forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only. Actual diagnosis and treatment of any particular medical condition can only be made by your physician(s).
