Editorial The role of infection in cardiovascular disease: more support but many questions remain

This editorial refers to ‘Influenza epidemics and acute respiratory disease activity are associated with a surge in autopsy-confirmed coronary heart disease death: results from 8 years of autopsies in 34 892 subjects’ † by M. Majid et al., on page 1205. The study by Madjid et al. is a valuable addition to the evidence supporting a role for infections in cardiovascular disease. Capitalizing on the very high rate of autopsies that are routinely performed in St Petersburg and the availability of high quality data about circulating levels of influenza infection, a clear association between influenza epidemics and increased rates of deaths from coronary heart disease was demonstrated. The association may not, of course, be causal. Ambient cold temperatures are likely to have been closely associated with levels of influenza