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Review
. 2022 Dec 13;14(12):e32465.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.32465. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Role of Gut Microbiome in Cardiovascular Events: A Systematic Review

Naushad M Mansuri  1 , Neelam K Mann  1 , Shariqa Rizwan  1 , Afrah E Mohamed  1 , Ahmed E Elshafey  1 , Akanchha Khadka  1 , Emmanuel Mudika Mosuka  1 , Kalanchige N Thilakarathne  1 , Lubna Mohammed  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of Gut Microbiome in Cardiovascular Events: A Systematic Review

Naushad M Mansuri et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

The gut microbiome helps maintain homeostasis in the body, but what if the gut experiences imbalance? It would lead to dysbiosis - which is involved in multiple diseases, including but not limited to cardiovascular diseases, the most common cause of mortality around the globe. This research paper aims to explain all the possible mechanisms known linking the gut microbiome to the contribution of worsening cardiovascular events. PubMed and Google Scholar were thoroughly explored to learn the role of the gut microbiome in cardiovascular events. A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to analyze the possible pathways and the metabolites included in the study. Thirteen review articles were selected based on the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) and the scale for the assessment of non-systematic review articles (SANRA) checklist scores. In this article, we have discussed the role of the gut microbiome in atherosclerosis, hypertension, metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, coronary artery disease, etc. Various pathways to modify the gut microbiome are also discussed, along with the use of probiotics. Finally, we discussed the role of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiome metabolite, as a biomarker for the prognosis of various diseases. This study concluded that the gut microbiome does play a crucial role in the worsening of cardiovascular diseases and the metabolites of which can be used as biomarkers in the prognosis of cardiovascular events.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; bacteria in the intestines; bacteroidetes; cardiovascular disease; cardiovascular events; firmicutes; gastrointestinal flora; gut microbiome; gut microbiota; myocardial infarction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram (downloaded from PRISMA Flow Diagram).
SANRA - Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles, AMSTAR - Assessment of multiple systematic reviews
Figure 2
Figure 2. Explains the pathways by which the gut microbiome can enhance the process of atherosclerosis.
ROS - reactive oxygen species, PVAT - perivascular derived adipocytes, TMAO - trimethylamine N-oxide, SCFA - short chain fatty acids
Figure 3
Figure 3. Shows the pathways associated with dysbiosis and hypertension.
SCFA - short chain fatty acids
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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