Study illuminates link between gut microbiome and heart failure

21 Jun 2022 --- A group of researchers at Georgetown University (US) reveal that a lack of biodiversity in the gut microbiome may be linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart failure. The researchers, part of the university’s School of Nursing and Health Study, state they reached this conclusion by conducting a methodical review of existing research.

The researchers scoured seven years’ worth of pharmacologic, genetic and related studies. They included studies from across the globe to gain the broadest possible perspective on the correlation between CVD, heart failure and microbiome diversity.

“There is now an appreciation of a back-and-forth relationship between the heart and elements in the gut, as clearly the heart and vascular system do not work in isolation,” explains Dr. Kelley Anderson, associate professor of nursing at Georgetown University.

The study reveals thatThe study finds that a healthy gut may be essential in preventing heart failure. it could not directly link diet to the interplay between gut and heart health. Yet, it stresses the importance of nutrition in cardiovascular health and the gut/heart relationship. 

Finding the culprit
According to a study published by Vanderbilt University Medical Center last year, high-fat diets can lead to high levels of the metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). The study demonstrates that this type of diet feeds the growth of harmful Enterobacteriaceae microbes like E. coli and forces the liver to produce the metabolite as a byproduct.  

This same Vanderbilt study linked TMAO to atherosclerosis and increased mortality in patients. 

The researchers at Georgetown concentrated on the harmful metabolite, which is the byproduct of ingesting dairy products, red meat or eggs. A study published in Cell Host & Microbiome linked the metabolite to increased incidence of strokes. It could also increase the severity and strength of strokes in some people.

The importance of gut biodiversity
Many recent studies bolster the claims of the Georgetown researchers. One, the Personalized Responses to Dietary Composition Trial 1 (PREDICT 1), revealed that there are at least fifteen gut microbes that may actively prevent several non-communicable diseases (NCD). The conditions targeted by these microbia include obesity and diabetes as well as CVD. TMAO, a harmful metabolite, has been linked to several non-communicable diseases.

“The gut microbiome is a delicately balanced ecosystem composed primarily of bacteria as well as viruses, fungi and protozoa,” assert the researchers.

The importance of maintaining this biodiversity is one of the reasons researchers in Canada recently reported that gut microbiome health should play an essential role in forming the world’s nutritional guidelines. 

Dr. Anderson and the Georgetown researchers will continue to study the relationship between the gut and heart health with a focus on “the symptomatic experience of patients with end-stage heart failure as well as disease-related weight loss and wasting during this stage of cardiovascular disease.” 

Edited by William Bradford Nichols