Microbes Are Linked To Heart Attacks.

Microbes

Microbes or microorganism are tiny forms of life that surround us that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. They may exist in its single-celled form or in a colony of cells. Microbes are found in water, soil, air and even human bodies.

There are good and bad microbes out there. The most common are bacteria, viruses and fungi. There are also microbes from the group of protozoa. These are tiny living creatures that are responsible for diseases such as toxoplasmosis and malaria.

Bacteria are single-cell organisms. Each different kind of bacteria need different things to grow. Some bacteria thrive in heat, while others need cold or oxygen. Well-known bacteria include for instance salmonella and staphylococci.

Many kinds of bacteria live on or in our body and help us to stay healthy. Like lactic acid bacteria, which is in the bowel and supports digestion. Other bacteria help the immune system by fighting germs. Some bacteria are also needed in order to produce certain types of food like yogurt or cheese.

It is estimated that less than 1% of all bacteria are responsible for diseases. Some diseases, like tuberculosis, are caused by bacteria alone. Bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. These are medicines that kill the bacteria or at least stop them from multiplying.

Many other infections including diarrhea, colds or tonsillitis can also result from bacteria, but most of the time it's do to viruses. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses.

Viruses have no cells of their own and they are also not living organisms in the stricter sense. They are instead made up of one or more molecules, inside of a protein shell. The genetic information found inside of this shell is needed for the viruses to reproduce. Many viruses are responsible for diseases.

Some are harmless and only trigger a minor cold, while others can cause serious diseases like AIDS. Other diseases caused by viruses include influenza, measles or viral hepatitis.

Viruses invade healthy cells and start to multiply from these cells. Without these host cells, a virus cannot reproduce. In many cases the body successfully fights back against the attackers. This is the case with cold sores. They are caused by viruses that are found in certain nerve cells and can lead to lip blisters in some people if the immune system is already occupied with other things.

To protect against some viruses the immune system can be “trained” by a vaccination so that the body is made less sensitive to the virus.

The best-known fungi include yeast, mold and edible fungi like mushrooms. Some fungi naturally occur on the skin or in the body. But fungi can also cause diseases.

Diseases caused by fungi are called mycoses. Common athlete’s foot or fungal infection of the nails can be caused by mycoses. Fungal infections can sometimes also cause inflammations of the lungs or mucous membranes in the mouth or on the reproductive organs, and become life-threatening for people who have a weakened immune system. But we owe the discovery of penicillin to a mold that can be used to produce this antibiotic.

A recent study revealed that abnormal microbe population in the body may lead to impairment of the stable coronary plaques and lead them to be dislodged leading to a heart attack. In the study the gut microbes of those with a heart attack have been found to be different from those who have stable angina. Heart attacks and heart disease has more than one contributing factor including obesity, diabetes, smoking and alcohol intake, age and concurrent medications being some of them. These factors affect the immunity, system metabolism and microbiome.

There have been several studies in the past connecting altered gut microbiota with heart attacks but no study has shown the connection of gut microbiota and inflammation that could lead to plaque instability. 

Microbiota in the gut and coronary plaque could have a pathogenic function in the process of plaque destabilization and might become a potential therapeutic target.