Bacteria in the Mouth can also Harm the Heart

A new study suggests that infection with a bacterium that causes gum disease and bad breath may increase the risk of heart disease, shows a study published in eLife. The study suggests another potential risk factor that physicians might screen for to identify individuals who are at risk of heart disease. It may also indicate that treatments for colonization or infection with the oral bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum, which may help reduce heart disease risk.

"Although enormous progress has been made in understanding how coronary heart disease develops, our understanding of how infections, inflammation, and genetic risk factors contribute is still incomplete. We wanted to help fill some of the gaps in our understanding of coronary heart disease by taking a more comprehensive look at the role of infections," says lead author Flavia Hodel, former PhD student at the School of Life Sciences of EPFL, Switzerland.

Hodel and colleagues analyzed genetic information, health data, and blood samples from a subset of 3,459 people who participated in the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus Study – a Swiss population-based cohort. Of the 3,459 participants, around 6% experienced a heart attack or another harmful cardiovascular event during the 12-year follow-up period. The team tested participants' blood samples for the presence of antibodies against 15 different viruses, six bacteria, and one parasite.

Oral Bacteria and Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Once the authors adjusted the results for known cardiovascular risk factors, they found that antibodies against F. nucleatum, a sign of previous or current infection by the bacterium, were linked with a slightly increased risk of a cardiovascular event.

"F. nucleatum might contribute to cardiovascular risk through increased systemic inflammation due to bacterial presence in the mouth, or through direct colonization of the arterial walls or plaque lining the arterial walls," Hodel explains.

The research shows that individuals with high genetic risk scores for coronary heart disease are at elevated risk for cardiovascular events, as previous studies have shown.

In the future, if studies confirm the link between F. nucleatum and heart disease, the authors say it may lead to new approaches to identifying those at risk or preventing cardiovascular events.

Inflammation is the Main Culprit Behind Heart Disease

"Our study adds to growing evidence that inflammation triggered by infections may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease and increase the risk of a heart attack," concludes senior author Jacques Fellay, a professor at the School of Life Sciences, EPFL, and head of the Precision Medicine Unit at Lausanne University Hospital and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. "Our results may lead to new ways of identifying high-risk individuals or lay the groundwork for studies of preventive interventions that treat F. nucleatum infections to protect the heart."

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A combination of genetic and environmental risk factors contributes to heart disease, which is responsible for about 32 percent of all deaths worldwide. A build-up of plaque in the arteries that supply the heart with blood causes coronary heart disease, which is the most common type of heart disease. The main risk factors associated with the development of coronary heart disease are smoking, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. The plaque can also lead to blockages that cause heart attacks. Previous studies have linked certain infections to an increased risk of plaque build-up.

Reference:

1. Associations of genetic and infectious risk factors with coronary heart disease - (https://elifesciences.org/articles/79742)

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Source-Medindia