The gut microbiome in coronary artery disease and heart failure: Current knowledge and future directions

Abstract

Host-microbiota interactions involving inflammatory and metabolic pathways have been linked to the pathogenesis of multiple immune-mediated diseases and metabolic conditions like diabetes and obesity. Accumulating evidence suggests that alterations in the gut microbiome could play a role in cardiovascular disease. This review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the interplay between diet, gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease, with emphasis on heart failure and coronary artery disease. Whereas much of the literature has focused on the circulating levels of the diet-and microbiota-dependent metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), several recent sequencing-based studies have demonstrated compositional and functional alterations in the gut microbiomes in both diseases. Some microbiota characteristics are consistent across several study cohorts, such as a decreased abundance of microbes with capacity for producing butyrate. However, the published gut microbiota studies generally lack essential covariates like diet and clinical data, are too small to capture the substantial variation in the gut microbiome, and lack parallel plasma samples, limiting the ability to translate the functional capacity of the gut microbiomes to actual function reflected by circulating microbiota-related metabolites. This review attempts to give directions for future studies in order to demonstrate clinical utility of the gut-heart axis.

Gut microbiome mediates the protective effects of exercise after myocardial infarction

“…27 In coronary heart disease, Phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were decreased whereas the Phyla Firmicutes were increased. 28 Consistently, we found that Physical exercise has been demonstrated to be able to modulate gut microbiota and increase the abundance of beneficial microbial species. [31][32][33] The microbiome of professional athletes exhibits higher diversity compared to sedentary controls.…”

Gut Microbiota-Dependent Trimethylamine N-Oxide Associates With Inflammation in Common Variable Immunodeficiency

“…The plasma concentrations of TMAO are influenced by several factors, including diet, gut microbiota, and kidney function (11,41). In the present study, CVID patients were characterized by high TMAO concentrations, correlating with systemic inflammation and certain key bacteria related to the gut dysbiosis in CVID, as well as with LPS thought to reflect gut leakage mechanisms.…”

Lifestyle Habits Associated with Poor Defecation Habit among Pupils in Japan

“…More attention should be paid to defecation frequency in terms of sustaining the health and function of pupils. Recently, the term “gut-heart axis” has also been proposed [ 44 ]. Gut conditions must be one of key issues for the realization of a society of health and longevity [ 1 ].…”