The phrase “knowledge is power” couldn’t be truer than what I am about to tell you. Are you at low risk for a heart attack because your doctor checked your cholesterol level and said everything is fine? If you have been reading my health blogs over the years, you should know by now that cholesterol is not the only culprit. Remember, half of all people who die of a heart attack never had high cholesterol. And lowering high cholesterol with a statin drug does not mean you will be immune to a heart attack.
There is a silent, yet diagnosable and treatable cause of heart disease that is unknown to most doctors, including cardiologists. This silent cause is from a bacterium called chlamydia. Chlamydia is one of the most common sexual-transmitted diseases (STDs). Most people who get infected with chlamydia have no symptoms, but some have painful urination. Interestingly, chlamydia is also a common cause of colds, flu, and bronchitis, and nearly everyone has had these.
Studies have shown that 80% of biopsied coronary artery plaques (the blockages that lead to a heart attack) were found to contain embedded chlamydia bacteria, and those same people had high blood levels of anti-chlamydia antibodies. Chlamydia leads to chronic vascular inflammation which literally eats away at your coronary arteries. Fortunately, this can be diagnosed and treated.
Comments from Dr. Thomas: Heart disease is still the leading cause of premature death in the United States. If you have any risk factors for a heart attack, such as a family history of heart disease or stroke, elevated cholesterol and/or triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, or if you have elevated inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, homocysteine, fibrinogen), your next step is to get an antibody test for chlamydia pneumonia. If your doctor refuses to order this important test, we can help.
