Monday, June 20, 2005

Common Stomach Bug May Affect Heart Rhythm, Study Finds

Bloomberg.com: U.K.
(Recommended by Mario Maranhao)
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- A stomach bug that affects about half of the people over the age of 60 in the U.S. may trigger an irregular heart rhythm, according to a study in the medical journal Heart, the first time such a link has been made.

Patients with an irregular heart beat, or atrial fibrillation, were 20 times more likely to test positive for Helicobacter pylori bacteria and had five times higher levels of gastric inflammation than healthy volunteers, the study of 104 people found.

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