Abstract
Chronic inflammation is thought to be important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common chronic infection of humans that has been
definitely linked to peptic ulcer. The evidence implicating H. pylori with atherosclerosis
is controversial. We decided to investigate an effect of H. pylori infection on the
restenosis after coronary angioplasty. Ninety four patients who underwent PTCA and
a subsequent repeat angiography were included in the study. The indications for angiography
and repeat PTCA were determined by the attending cardiologist. H. pylori serology
was determined by ELISA. Sixteen (17.2%) of the patients developed restenosis. Of
these 16, 12 (75%) were H. pylori seropositive versus 44 (56.4%) of the 78 patients
who did not develop restenosis, p = 0.13. There was no difference between the H. pylori positive and negative patients
with respect to cholesterol level, hypertension, diabetes or peptic disease. There
appears to be no relationship between H. pylori and the development of restenosis
following PTCA.
