Stomach bug linked to irregular heart rhythm

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A small study suggests that infection with a well-known stomach bug is more common among those with an irregular heart rhythm.
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium which can live in the acid conditions of the stomach and has been linked with stomach cancer and heart disease. Now a team in Milan, Italy, suggests that infection with H. pylori is also associated with an irregular heart rhythm condition called atrial fibrillation (AF).

They studied 59 patients with persistent AF and 45 healthy volunteers, testing them for H. pylori infection as well as measuring levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a known 'marker' for inflammation. Elevated CRP has also been linked to heart disease. Those with AF were around 20 times more likely to test positive for H. pylori than were the healthy volunteers, and their levels of CRP were around five times as high.

The researchers also found that the rates of infection and levels of CRP to be higher among those with persistent, rather than spasmodic, AF. Maybe the infection sets up a state of inflammation - as suggested by the raised CRP levels - which predisposes towards heart problems.

Source
Heart June 2005 Volume 91 pages 960-961