Infective endocarditis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the interior lining of the heart and the heart valves, generally caused by bacterial infection. Heart valves that have been damaged or are abnormal are at highest risk for infective endocarditis, but infection can also occur in normal valves when a large number of bacteria are present. Researchers believe that when an individual is diagnosed with periodontal disease, a normal task such as chewing or brushing can injure gum tissue, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream. The accumulation of these bacteria on heart valves often leads to a fatal infection unless treated.

Coronary artery disease is another type of cardiovascular disease in which the walls of the coronary arteries (heart blood vessels) gradually thicken due to the build-up of fatty proteins. Often blood clots form in these narrowed coronary arteries and normal blood flow activity is obstructed, depleting the heart of the nutrients and oxygen needed to function properly. Scientists now believe that bacteria found in the oral cavity enter the bloodstream, attach to fatty plaques and may contribute to clot formation. Researchers have found that people suffering from periodontal disease are twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease than those without periodontal disease. Current data leads scientists to believe that periodontal disease is an important risk factor for heart disease, working in concert with other risk factors such as age, smoking, diabetes, hypertension and elevated blood cholesterol. (1-12)

Additionally, in a recent study that looked at the causal relationship of oral infection as a risk factor for stroke, people diagnosed with acute cerebrovascular ischemia were found more likely to have an oral infection when compared to those in a control group. (10)

The American Heart Association estimates approximately 58 million Americans, 1 in 5, suffer from cardiovascular disease, making it the number one cause of death in the U.S.

For more information on the link between periodontal disease and heart disease, please refer to the following
Annals of Periodontology (July 1998) research articles:

• Page RC. The pathobiology of periodontal diseases may affect systemic diseases: inversion of a paradigm.
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:108-120.
• Loew GD. Etiopathogenesis of cardiovascular disease: hemostasis, thrombosis and vascular medicine.
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:121-126.
• Beck JD, Offenbacher S, Williams R, Gibbs P, Garcia R. Periodontitis: A risk factor for coronary heart disease?
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:127-141.
• Kinane DF. Periodontal diseases' contributions to cardiovascular disease: an overview of potential mechanisms.
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:142-150.
• Herzberg MC, Meyer MW. Dental plaque, platelets and cardiovascular diseases.
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:151-160.
• Loesche, WJ, Schork A, Terpenning MS, Chen YM, Kerr C, Dominquez BL. The relationship between dental
  disease and cerebral vascular accident in elderly United States veterans.
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:161-174.
• Joshipura K, Douglass C, Willett WC. Possible explanations for the tooth loss and cardiovascular
  disease relationship. Annals of Periodontology 1998:3:175-183.
• Drangsholt MT. A new causal model of dental diseases associated with endocarditis.
  Annals of Periodontology 1998;3:184-196.
  
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