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Researchers who studied data from 1,469 U.S. adults with a syphilis diagnosis without prior cardiovascular disease found that syphilis was associated with higher rates of death and several major cardiovascular conditions, such as stroke and heart attack, over 15 years. The highest risk occurred for those in late-stage disease. Compared to 7,345 uninfected controls, patients with syphilis had about twice the risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection, a 53% higher risk of ischemic stroke, a 92% higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke, a 31% higher risk of heart attack and a 28% higher risk of peripheral artery disease, according to the analysis published in JAMA Network Open.
Another good reason to treat syphilis: The related news release from Tulane University suggests the findings are significant “because syphilis may be seen as an infection that can be cured and forgotten,” and the possible link to cardiovascular disease may be more common than clinicians realize.