How Bacteria can Clog up our Arteries ? Its not your Diet !

Usually people think that unbalanced diet rich in fat and cholesterol is responsible for heart problems, and blockage in arteries occur only due to increased weight caused by fatty diet or lack of physical activity. But this thinking might not be true any more. Some researchers have found that:
  • A number of people even with high-fat diet and increased weight never develop heart disease.
  • Some people even with correct BMI (Body Mass Index) develop blockage in arteries and heart problems.
  • Sometimes a sudden stress initiates heart attack in a healthy person.
These two factors made medical community think again about any other possible reason of blockages in blood vessels. Some recent researches have found that even some bacteria can clog up arteries.

Bacterial Lipids causing blockages

Researcher at University of Connecticut collected atheroma samples from several patients that were getting treated in hospitals. Atheroma is accumulation of degenerative material in the inner layer of artery wall. The lipids in that atheroma contained chemical signatures that can't come from an animal. Instead that chemical signature belong to a bacteria of Bacteroidetes family. It simply suggests that those bacteria were responsible for clogged up arteries. Researchers used modern mass spectrometers to find that these depositions are actually bacterial lipids. Chemical makeup of human lipids are totally different from them.

Researchers have found that bacterial lipids are considered as a foreign material by the body and in response inflammation is triggered which makes blockage more severe. This fact makes such blockages more severe.

Human body is home for millions of bacteria, as most of them are good for us. Bacteria of Bacteroidetes family usually resides in our mouth and gut. Usually they don't harm us, but occasionally they can cause gum disease. However these bacteria can't enter our blood stream, but the lipids secreted by them can penetrate through cell wall and enters our blood stream. Later it can cause blockages.

Bacteria causing Heart Attack when accompanied with Stress

Previously people used to think that emotional or physical stress can trigger heart attacks, but there was no scientific explanation for that. Recently researchers at Binghamton University in New York found that those bacteria which reside in the plaque-covered arteries can be held responsible for such heart attacks. No doubt that fatty deposits, known as plaques, are the main reason behind heart problems, but the activity done by these bacteria that survive in the plaque-covered arteries is equally important. Researchers believe that stress make some chemical changes in our blood, which make these bacteria also release some enzymes that causes rupturing of the plaque. The ruptured plaque later get stuck in some artery of heart and causes heart attack. This research was published in the journal mBio.
It does not mean that every stress will lead to heart attack. It happens only when arteries are already plaque-covered. Every stress in the life of such person initiates the rupture process, but a sudden stress of high intensity can be a major cause of heart attack. However research is still going on to further investigate this phenomena.

Both of the above researches show us that still we need to know a lot more about our body. Today medical science in advancing at a great pace. Instead of relying completely on it, we should take care of our body by regular workout. A regular workout can save you from heart problems. Prevention is always better than cure.


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