herpesvirus cytomegalovirus (CMV), found as a persistent infection in approximately 50 per cent of the developed world’s population, which has been linked to coronary heart disease. The virus can be found in atheromatous plaques in diseased arteries where the chronic inflammation it causes may contribute to the subsequent blockage of blood flow that precipitates a heart attack. These intriguing associations certainly warrant further investigation. As we have seen with cancer, although viruses may represent only one link in the chain of events that leads to a disease, their removal could
...more
