A recent study by a team from Hiroshima University in Japan found a significant association between gums and heart health.
Through the study of 76 participants with heart disease, the researchers were able to establish a link between periodontitis, acute gingivitis, and atrial fibrosis.
Atrial fibrillation is scarring of one end of the heart’s left atrium that can lead to an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation.
This is a condition that leads to an irregular and often abnormally fast heartbeat.
People with atrial fibrillation are at greater risk of strokes and even heart failure, both of which can be fatal.
In a statement to Science Daily, first study author Shunsuke Miyauchi explained: “Gingivitis is associated with long-term inflammation, and inflammation plays a major role in the development of atrial fibrosis and the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation. We hypothesized that periodontitis exacerbates atrial fibrosis.”
This study aims to clarify the relationship between the clinical periodontitis status and the degree of atrial fibrillation.
As part of the research, left atrial polyps were surgically removed from the patients. The researchers then analyzed the tissue to determine the relationship between the severity of the atrial fibrillation and the severity of the periodontal disease.
The team discovered that the worse the periodontitis, the worse the fibrosis, suggesting that gingivitis may lead to increased inflammation and heart disease.
“This study provides essential evidence that periodontitis can exacerbate atrial fibrillation and might be a new modifiable risk factor for atrial fibrillation,” said study co-author Yukiko Nakano.