Oral bacteria may increase risk of heart disease: study

By Alice Clifford via SWNS

Oral bacteria may increase the risk of heart disease, warns a new study.

The common bacteria that causes inflamed gums, oral cancers, and bad breath could lead to a rise in the risk of a heart attack or stroke, say scientists.

Researchers found that people who carried the antibodies that fight off the oral bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum, had a slightly higher risk of having a cardiovascular event.

The presence of the antibodies is a sign of a previous or current infection by the bacterium.

Lead author Flavia Hodel, of the School of Life Sciences of EPFL in Switzerland, said: "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.”

A combination of genetic and environmental risk factors contributes to heart disease, which is responsible for about one-third of all deaths worldwide.

A build-up of plaque in the arteries that supply the heart with blood causes coronary heart disease – the most common type of heart disease.

Symptoms can include chest pain, shortness of breath and tiredness and can lead to heart attacks.

Ms. Hodel said: "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."

The team analyzed genetic information, health data, and blood samples from just under 3,500 people from Switzerland.

Of the participants, around six percent experienced a heart attack or another harmful cardiovascular event during the 12-year follow-up period.

The team tested their blood samples to detect antibodies that fight against 15 different viruses, six bacteria, and one parasite.

They found that people with the antibodies that attack the oral bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum, had a slightly higher risk of having a cardiovascular event.

Also, as expected, people with high genetic risk scores for coronary heart disease were more likely to suffer from a cardiovascular event.

The study indicates that treatments for these oral infections may help reduce heart disease risk.

If future studies confirm the link between this bacteria and heart disease, it may lead to new approaches to identifying those at risk and preventing cardiovascular events.

Senior author Professor Jacques Fellay said: "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.

"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."

The study was published in the journal eLife.