Suffering from heart flutter or irregular heart rate? Then start flossing.
Poor gum health—known as gingivitis, caused by the P. gingivalis bacteria—is an unlikely cause of irregular heartbeat, or atrial fibrillation (AFib).
When the gums become infected and bleed, the body’s inflammatory responses don’t always stay in the mouth. Instead, they can get into the bloodstream and infiltrate the heart, where they distort the heart’s architecture and interfere with electrical signals.
Researchers have long noticed some connection between gum disease and heart health. Around 30 percent of AFib sufferers also suffer from periodontitis, a form of gum disease, and researchers have also discovered DNA from oral bacteria, and especially P. gingivalis, one of the most commonly linked to poor gum health, in heart muscle, valves, and even fatty arterial plaques.
It could also be driving other chronic diseases linked to inflammation, such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and some cancers. It has also been detected in the brain, liver, and placenta.
But although researchers have seen an association, they’ve never been able to track the actual processes that take place. To find out, a research team from Hiroshima University in Japan infected one group of mice with the bacteria, and within 18 weeks, they were six times more likely to develop abnormal heart rhythms. The bacteria had also made their way to the heart.
These observations were also seen in the heart’s left atrial tissue taken from 68 AFib sufferers who had undergone surgery. The bacteria was found there, too, and in greater amounts in those with severe gum disease.
Although diet and exercise have been promoted as the best ways to avoid heart disease, the researchers say that daily brushing and flossing, and regular dental checkups, could play just as big a part.
SOURCE: WDDTY.com