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Microbiome and cardiovascular health unexplored frontiers in precision cardiology: a narrative review
Anano Nebieridze1,2, Aya Abu-Bakr1,3, Abubakar Nazir1
1Department of Research and Education, Oli Health Magazine Organization, Kigali, Rwanda.
Insights
The gut microbiome influences cardiovascular health through its metabolites. Targeting these microbial derivatives shows promise for preventing and treating heart disease, paving the way for precision cardiology.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Cardiology
- Metabolomics
Background:
- The gut microbiome and host have a symbiotic relationship, with bidirectional effects.
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality globally.
- Altered gut microbiome composition is observed in patients with heart conditions, suggesting a gut-heart axis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how gut microbiota and their metabolites impact cardiovascular health.
- To explore the potential of targeting the gut microbiome in precision cardiology.
Main Methods:
- Literature search conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, Ovid MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect.
- Included articles focused on cardiovascular health, pathology, and their intersection with the gut microbiome.
Main Results:
- Gut microbiome metabolites (e.g., trimethylamine N-oxide, short-chain fatty acids) significantly influence cardiovascular disease.
- These metabolites affect cholesterol metabolism, systemic inflammation, and plaque stability.
- Interventions targeting microbial derivatives have shown positive outcomes for cardiovascular patients.
Conclusions:
- Microbiome-based interventions offer potential for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.
- Further research, including large-scale longitudinal studies, is needed to confirm specific microbial effects.
- Precision cardiology approaches, including lifestyle changes and fecal transplantation, can positively impact cardiovascular health.
Background And Purpose:
Gut microbiota has a symbiotic relationship with their host. It is known that the gut microbiome has the potential to affect the host and vice versa. Cardiovascular disease and its comorbidities are the leading cause of death worldwide. Patients with various heart conditions have been observed to have a different composition of the gut microbiome. It has been postulated that the gut microbiome and its derivatives exert various effects on the cardiovascular system, termed the gut-heart axis. In this study, we aim to explore how the gut microbiome and the active metabolites produced by these microorganisms affect patient cardiovascular health. Additionally, we will discuss how gut microbiota can become a target for the new era of precision cardiology.
Methods:
Data were collected through the online databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Ovid MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect. Articles regarding cardiovascular health and pathology as well as its overlap with gut microbiome and health were used.
Results:
Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiome has a significant influence on cardiovascular disease through its metabolites, such as trimethylamine N-oxide and short-chain fatty acids, which impact cholesterol metabolism, systemic inflammation, and plaque stability. Targeting said derivatives has proven to provide beneficial results for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Conclusions:
Finding reported here highlights the importance of microbiome in cardiovascular disease and health and suggest that microbiome-based interventions hold promise for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. More research needs to be conducted to study more concrete effects of specific microorganisms on cardiovascular health. Multicenter, longitudinal studies with a large sample size will provide the best evidence for clinically significant findings. Using precision cardiology, to target the gut microbiome and its derivatives, with medications like antibiotics, and nonpharmacologic interventions like lifestyle modification and fecal transplantation can positively influence cardiovascular health and help with the effective management of ongoing diseases.
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