NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – More than 650,000 people in the United States die from heart disease, which is one out of every four deaths. Now, researchers are looking to the gut and an FDA-approved drug to treat inflammatory bowel disease to aid in preventing heart disease.
Lots of junk food and lots of sugar are staples in the standard American diet. In fact, 63 percent of calories consumed by Americans come from refined and processed foods, 25 percent come from animal-based foods and only 12 percent come from plant-based foods.
“That diet is changing how the microbes that live in your gut work,” Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Marianna Byndloss, explained. “They’re using components of that diet and then producing some products that induce inflammation in your heart and in your arteries and cause cardiovascular disease.”
That’s why researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center are looking at a drug used to treat inflammatory bowel disease to fix the microbes, or bacteria, in the gut.
“A drug called five-amino salicylic acid, or 5-ASA, which is a drug that restores the health of the intestines and prevent the microbes from producing these bad metabolites,” Professor Byndloss mentioned.
In animal studies, the drug increased the levels of good bacteria and decreased the bad bacteria in the gut.
The researchers are also looking at how improving the health of these gut microbes can lower the risk for colorectal cancer. Professor Byndloss says the best diet for healthy gut microbes is rich in vegetables, grains and fiber.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer, Editor.
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Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
https://www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/standard-american-diet-sadder-than-we-thought/
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: PREVENTING HEART DISEASE THROUGH YOUR GUT
REPORT: MB #5029
BACKGROUND: The term heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease, or CAD for short, which affects the blood flow to the heart. Decreased blood flow can cause a heart attack.
Sometimes heart disease may be silent and not diagnosed until a person experiences signs or symptoms of a heart attack, heart failure, or an arrhythmia.
(Source: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/about.htm)
DIAGNOSING: Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart and include blood vessel disease, heart rhythm problems, heart defects you’re born with, heart valve disease, disease of the heart muscle, or heart infection. Many forms of heart disease can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices. If you show symptoms such as chest pain, chest tightness, chest pressure and chest discomfort, shortness of breath, pain, numbness, weakness or coldness in your legs or arms, pain in the neck, jaw, throat, upper abdomen or back you may be at risk of heart disease. You might not be diagnosed with coronary artery disease until you have a heart attack, angina, stroke or heart failure. It’s important to watch for cardiovascular symptoms and discuss concerns with your doctor. Cardiovascular disease can sometimes be found early with regular evaluations.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353118)
NEW RESEARCH: The first large study to assess cardiovascular outcomes one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection has demonstrated that the impact of the virus is often lasting. In an analysis of more than eleven million U.S. veterans’ health records, researchers found the risk of 20 different heart and vessel conditions was substantially increased in veterans who had COVID-19 one year earlier, compared with those who didn’t. The risk rose with severity of initial disease and extended to every outcome the team examined, including heart attacks, arrhythmias, strokes, cardiac arrest, and more. Even people who never went to the hospital had more cardiovascular disease than those who were never infected.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Craig Boerner
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