DETECTION OF HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS AND EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS IN CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROTIC TISSUE

Previous studies indicated that patients with atherosclerosis are predominantly infected by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), but rarely infected by type 1 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-1). In this study, atheromas of 30 patients who underwent aortocoronary bypass surgery with coronary endartherectomy were tested for the presence of these two viruses. HCMV occurred in 93.3 % of the samples and EBV-1 was present in 50 % of them. Concurrent presence of both pathogens was detected in 43.3 % of the samples. Key words: atherosclerosis; cytomegalovirus; Epstein-Barr virus. Atherosclerosis, considered the main underlying disease responsible for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, has multifactor etiology. Obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension and cigarette smoking account for 50 to 60 percent of cases of cardiovascular disease (10). Atherosclerosis essentially develops from a mild chronic inflammatory reaction to an injury and there is evidence that infectious microorganisms, such as Chlamydia pneumonia, Helicobacte