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Basic and translational research
Review
The heart-gut axis: new target for atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure therapy
  1. Esther Forkosh and
  2. Yaron Ilan
  1. Medicine, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
  1. Correspondence to Dr Yaron Ilan; ilan{at}hadassah.org.il

Abstract

The human gut microbiota has been identified as a possible novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The intestinal microbiome plays a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and heart failure. Even though studies in rodents suggested that gut microbes may affect the risk of heart disease, this link has not been shown in humans. In the present study, we review several potential mechanisms by which the gut microbiome and bacterial translocation are associated with the development of cardiac disorders making them potential targets for novel therapeutic measures for these conditions. Modulation of the gut microbiota as a mechanism for altering the pathogenesis of disorders is an area of growing interest. Alteration in the gut microbiota is being explored as a method of reducing risk factors associated with cardiac diseases.

  • atherosclerosis
  • heart failure
  • microbiome
  • bacterial translocation

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/openhrt-2018-000993

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors Both authors wrote the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement There are no data in this work.