Atherosclerosis represents a multifactorial disease the pathogenesis of which is influenced, along with disorders of lipoprotein metabolism, by a chronic inflammatory response. The underlying factors of this inflammatory response have not yet been unequivocally elucidated. A distinct role is played by infectious agents. Their precise contribution to this process,however, remains as yet elusive. Atherosclerosis is not a bona fide infectious disease, being rather caused or aggravated in genetically disposed individuals by a so-called pathogen burden. Treatment of atherosclerosis and/or its complications by use of antibiotics has not come up to expectations. On the other hand, drugs with a clear-cut anti-infammatory effect which fits in with their hypolipidemic effect, such as aspirin, statins and fibrates, have proved useful in this respect. According to new studies, annual and properly-timed vaccination before an influenza epidemic offers promising results in preventing myocardial infarction and/or cerebral ischemia in patients over sixty years of age. Studies the results of which support this piece of knowledge are discussed in this review article.

        Key words: atherosclerosis - microbial burden - inflammatory response - influenza - vaccination.