Heart Failure Associated With Loss Of Important Gut Bacteria

11 July 2017 Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung (DZHK)

In the gut of patients with heart failure, important groups of bacteria are found less frequently and the gut flora is not as diverse as in healthy individuals. It has long been known that heart failure and gut health are linked. The gut has a worse blood supply in instances of heart failure; the intestinal wall is thicker and more permeable, whereby bacteria and bacterial components may find their way into the blood. Moreover, scientists know that the composition of the gut bacteria is altered in other widespread diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Diet, medication and smoking have the largest influence on the make up of gut flora. The differences between healthy individuals and those with heart failure came about mainly through the loss of bacteria of the genera Blautia and Collinsella, as well as two previously unknown genera that belong to the families Erysipelotrichaceae and Ruminococcaceae.

Is it the chicken or the egg when it comes to cause and effect? Or, should we be using the “garbage in” and “garbage out” model? When it comes to our food consumption habits and health impacts, I’d start there.
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Full bibliographic information Original publication: Heart failure is associated with depletion of core intestinal microbiota. Luedde, M., Winkler, T., Heinsen, F.-M., Rühlemann, M. C., Spehlmann, M. E., Bajrovic, A., Lieb, W., Franke, A., Ott, S. J. & Frey, N. ESC Heart Failure, (2017)
DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.12155