Hepatitis C Increases Risk of Heart Damage, Study Confirms

Hepatitis C is an infection caused by the hepatitis C virus or HCV that mainly affects the liver, which eventually leads to liver scarring, liver failure or liver cancer. Unfortunately, it looks like individuals who are prone to getting this disease have another thing to worry about. A new study confirms that HCV can now affect the heart as well.

HCP Live reports that based on a study conducted at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, there is a strong implication relating the hepatitis C virus to an increased risk in developing heart diseases. As these individuals are also known to carry the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the researchers have also verified if this second virus can be a risk factor and apparently, it did not increase the possibility of the occurrence of heart problems.

The study has observed 994 adult males ages 40 to 70 without any history of heart problems. Out of these subjects, 17 have Hepatitis C, 613 have HIV and 70 are infected with both viruses. To measure the calcium deposits and fat presence in the heart, a cardiac CT scan has been used.

As a result of the scans, the researchers have been able to conclude that men infected with HCV, regardless of HIV status, have a 30 percent possibility of getting a heart ailment due to the presence of more coronary artery calcium. Furthermore, men with more HVC infection have a 50 percent chance of developing arteriosclerosis or clogged arteries.

Business Standard writes that according to Eric Seaberg, lead author and an assistant Epidemiology professor, the findings are relevant to people suffering from Hepatitis C regardless if they HIV or not. Although the researchers still do not exactly know how HCV participates in the buildup of plaque in the arteries, their findings is enough to generate a conclusion that cardiac evaluation and monitoring must be part of the health regimen of these individuals.

Wendy Post, one of the researchers and a professor at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, said medical experts should educate patients suffering from Hepatitis C to have a yearly cardiac risk profile check-up and not just to follow-up on how their livers are doing.

Infection Control Today adds that as about 2.7 million people are infected with HCV, treating the infection will be the main goal of medical professionals, but the researchers feel that further medication development should be conducted to include treatment for plaque buildup.

The study has been published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and has been funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.