A new study has revealed that people infected Hepatitis C virus is not only at the risk for liver damage, they may also have a higher heart disease risk.
The research found that study participants chronically infected with hepatitis C were more likely to harbour abnormal fat-and-calcium plaques inside their arteries, a common forerunner of heart attacks and strokes.
Principal Researcher, Eric Seaberg who is also an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said “We believe our findings are relevant to anyone infected with hepatitis C regardless of HIV status.
Researchers said that they do not know exactly how infection with the hepatitis C virus causes the growth of artery-clogging plaque, but that their evidence is strong enough to warrant vigilant monitoring for cardiac symptoms among people infected with the virus.