[Prognostic value of antibodies anti-Chlamydia pneumoniae in ischemic heart disease].

Introduction And Objectives: Coronary artery disease has been related to infection by Chlamydia pneumoniae even only in a few studies the association between presence of antibodies to this microorganism and the prognosis of patients with ischemic heart disease has been assessed. The objective of our study was to assess the impact of positivity of anti-Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in the morbidity and mortality associated to ischemic heart disease.

Methods: 249 patients with ischemic cardiopathy were evaluated (97 with myocardial infarction, 83 with unstable angina and 69 with stable angina), recluted along 1 year and with 3-year follow-up.

Antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae and their relation to lymphocyte population levels.

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection has long been suspected as a possible cause of atherosclerosis and has been frequently detected in atheromatous plaques of the coronary arteries. Nevertheless, its distribution is not correlated to the severity or extent of the disease, but it would support the hypothesis that the organism may be an active factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. A group of patients with stable angina were examined as to whether or not the positivity of antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae modified cellular populations as mechanisms responsible for the alterations of inflammatory response.