HPV infection may quadruple death risk in women from heart disease: Study

Women have a four times higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease if they have an infection with a highrisk strain of the human papillomavirus HPV according to research released on WednesdayHPV is a very common infection and highrisk strains are known to cause cervical cancer Previous research has suggested that HPV may also contribute to the buildup of dangerous plaque in the arteriesHowever this is the first study to show a link between highrisk HPV infection and deaths from cardiovascular diseaseThe study published in the European Heart Journal found that women with highrisk HPV had a 391 times greater risk of blocked arteries a 374 times greater risk of dying from heart disease and a 586 times greater risk of dying from a stroke compared to women who did not have a highrisk HPV infectionDespite remarkable advances in controlling wellknown risk factors for heart disease smoking high cholesterol hypertension and diabetes it continues to be a major cause of death Interestingly these conventional risk factors dont explain all heart disease cases about 20 per cent occur in people who dont have these issues This highlights the need to investigate other changeable risk factors said Professor Seungho Ryu from the Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in South KoreaThe team included 163250 young or middleaged Korean women who had no cardiovascular disease at the start of the study They were given a variety of health screening tests including cervical screening for 13 highrisk strains of HPVThe women returned for health checks every year or two for an average of eight and half years Researchers also found that the risk was higher still in women who had a highrisk HPV infection and obesityWe know that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease and viral infections are potential triggers of inflammation said Prof Hae Suk Cheong from the varsityHPV is known for its link to cervical cancer but research is starting to show that this virus can also be found in the blood stream It could be that the virus is creating inflammation in the blood vessels contributing to blocked and damaged arteries and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease Cheong addedThe researchers said more work is needed to find out whether highrisk HPV infection has similar effects on men and to see if the HPV vaccine can prevent deaths from heart diseaseIf these findings are confirmed they could have substantial implications for public health strategies Increasing HPV vaccination rates may be an important strategy in reducing longterm cardiovascular risks Prof Ryu saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever