Overview

• Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the study examined plaques from 121 sudden-death cases and 96 vascular-surgery patients using PCR, immunohistochemistry, and transcriptomics.
• Genetic material from oral microbes was found inside atherosclerotic plaques, with viridans streptococci most common and biofilm-like structures localized in plaque cores.
• Oral streptococcal signatures appeared in roughly 42% of plaques across cohorts and were associated with severe disease, plaque rupture, and fatal cardiac outcomes.
• The authors propose that dormant biofilms may reactivate during infections or other stressors, triggering inflammation that can weaken caps and precipitate clot-forming rupture, with bacteria observed dispersing in some ruptured plaques.
• Researchers stress the findings are preliminary and not proof of causation, calling for replication, confirmation of live bacteria, and careful evaluation of potential diagnostic or preventive applications.