Stress, Bacteria Trigger Heart Attack?

Pseudomonas aeruginosa on cetrimide agarWIKIMEDIA, HANSNUnder duress, the body releases stress hormones to help deal with the potentially dangerous situation, diverting energy from digestion, growth, and even immunity to fuel increases in heart rate and blood pressure. But such hormones can also break up biofilms in arteries, possibly contributing to stress-related heart attack or stroke, according to a study published this week (June 10) in mBio.

Specifically, David Davies of Binghamton University in New York and his colleagues identified a handful of bacterial species on the arterial plaques of 15 cardiovascular disease patients. Among those bacteria were the biofilm-forming Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Such plaques are normally stable, but when do they break down, clumps can results in blood clots that can cause the patient to suffer a heart attack or stroke. Suspecting that the bacteria might follow the same pattern, the researchers treated P. aeruginosa grown in...