WASHINGTON — New research suggests a common virus might play a role in high blood pressure.
The work, by Harvard scientists, so far is only in mice — and the usually symptomless infection is so widespread that proving an effect in people will be tough. Still, it’s the latest clue that infections may somehow affect a number of the factors that lead to heart disease, from stiffening arteries to obesity.
At issue is cytomegalovirus (CMV). More than half of U.S. adults are infected by age 40, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a lifelong infection, but the vast majority never even know they have it.
Yet CMV causes serious problems for select groups: Women infected during pregnancy sometimes pass the virus to their fetuses, and 8,000 infants a year suffer disabilities — including mental impairments and hearing or vision loss — as a result. CMV also causes a type of blindness in AIDS patients.
Researchers found that CMV in mice spurred increased production of the enzyme renin, known to activate a molecular pathway that can lead to high blood pressure. The Associated Press
