Periodontal Health and the Heart
- Joan Stephenson, PhD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Periodontal infection is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a report by researchers in Germany (Spahr A et al. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:554-559).
Chronic inflammation has been linked to increased cardiovascular risk, and periodontitis is a possible trigger of chronic inflammation. To look for a link between periodontal infection and CHD, the researchers enrolled 263 patients with stable CHD and 526 controls without a history of CHD and collected subgingival biofilm samples to analyze for periodontal pathogens.
The investigators found a statistically significant association between the total periodontal pathogen burden and the presence of CHD, particularly the number of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans bacteria in the periodontal pockets. Such pathogens may increase the risk of CHD through such mechanisms as platelet activation and aggregation, the authors noted.
