Heart Disease

83.6 million (>1:3) American adults have one or more types of cardiovascular disease. There are 22 types of cardiovascular disease; hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular heart disease, inflammatory heart disease, and atherosclerosis, to name a few. CVD is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. 12 million cases per year of mortality from CVD (30% of all deaths in the United States). About 200,000 avoidable deaths occurred in 2010 from heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive disease occurred in the United States. 56% of these deaths were among people under 65 years of age. Cardiovascular disease remains the number one global cause of death (17.3 million deaths per year).

Periodontal bacteria travel from the oral cavity into the blood stream, causing systemic inflammation. The presence of dangerous oral bacteria is a root cause that drives systemic inflammation and damages the blood vessel lining: the first step toward heart attack and stroke. Pro-inflammatory mediators are released in response to gum disease driving insulin resistance, which causes arterial damage and CVD. Gum disease is the only known disease to increase LpPla2 which increases plaque vulnerability and plays a direct role in CVD progression.