For several years now, people have been aware of the HPV virus; it’s the one that has been linked to cervical cancer in women and is also the cause of genital warts. Now, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have found a possible link between the HPV virus and cardiovascular disease. In the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and led by Dr. Ken Fujise, Division Director of Cardiology, the researchers found that abnormally high numbers of patients with no other risk factors for heart disease were developing cardiovascular diseases nonetheless. After further study, it was found that many such patients had contracted the HPV virus.
The HPV virus is now among the most commonly contracted sexually transmitted diseases and efforts have been underway for several years to get young girls immunized before beginning sexual activity to protect them from both the unsightly warts that signal an infection and the increased risk of developing cervical cancer. Now it appears immunizing girls when they are young might also help protect them from developing cardiovascular diseases as an adult.
Cardiovascular disease is generally defined as any condition that disrupts the normal operation of the heart and blood vessels. Thus, it’s implied in conditions such as atherosclerosis as well as heart problems. In this case, the researchers found the HPV virus might in fact lead to atherosclerosis, more commonly known as hardening of the arteries. It’s thought that the virus might inhibit the p53 gene that is responsible for normal arterial growth and stability.
In addition to increasing the risk of developing atherosclerosis, the researchers also suspect that the HPV virus might put people, women in particular, at risk for stroke, due to the dual role that hardened arteries play in cardiovascular disease.
The research team also noted in their report that because of their findings, physicians now need to be alerted to added risks for women that have already been infected, and especially so for those women that have already developed cervical or other cancers as a result.
On a more optimistic note, the team also surmised that because of these findings, it might be possible for other researchers to develop medications that can be directed towards assisting the p53 gene in doing its work, which could in turn wind up helping many women that have already contracted the virus avoid the heart disease that now appears to be associated with such infections.