A recent study reported that there might be another risk factor that medical professionals should consider when assessing heart disease risk in patients. It suggests that treating mouth infections or colonization with the bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum could lower the risk of heart disease.

A subgroup of 3,459 participants in the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus Study, a population-based cohort study in Switzerland, were subjected to genetic analysis with health data and blood samples. The scientists examined blood samples from individuals to check for antibodies to 15 distinct viruses, 6 different bacteria, and 1 parasite. During the 12-year follow-up period, about 6% of the 3,459 individuals had a heart attack or another serious cardiovascular event.

The results showed a modest increase in the risk of a cardiovascular event was associated with antibodies against F. nucleatum, a marker of past or present bacterial infection.

The authors also backed up prior research by confirming that people with high hereditary risk scores for coronary heart disease are more likely to experience cardiovascular events.

The findings of this study add to the fact that inflammation brought on by infections may raise the risk of a heart attack and help develop coronary heart disease.

Researchers thus concluded that if additional research shows a connection between F. nucleatum and heart disease, then it could lead to the development of novel methods for detecting persons at risk or avoiding cardiovascular events.

(Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230214154024.htm)