Infectious serology and atherosclerosis: how burdensome is the risk?

In recent years, atherosclerosis has come to be recognized as active and inflammatory, rather than simply a passive process of lipid infiltration.1 Inflammation occurs in response to vascular oxidative stress and injury through known and unknown stimuli. Inflammatory triggers undoubtedly include oxidized and glycosylated products (eg, modified lipoproteins). Given their association with inflammation, infectious agents also are being explored as potential inciters of vascular inflammation and promoters of atherosclerosis.2,3