Mouth rinse analysis could spot early heart disease risk

Gum inflammation leads to periodontitis, which is linked with cardiovascular disease. Now researchers used a simple oral rinse to see if levels of white blood cells — an indicator of gum inflammation — in the saliva of healthy adults could be linked to warning signs for cardiovascular disease. They found that high levels correlated with compromised flow-mediated dilation, an early indicator of poor arterial health.

The team chose pulse-wave velocity, which can measure the stiffness of arteries, and flow-mediated dilation, a measure of how well arteries can dilate to allow for higher blood flow, as key indicators of cardiovascular risk. These measure arterial health directly: stiff and poorly functioning arteries raise patients’ risk of cardiovascular disease.

The scientists recruited 28 non-smokers between 18 and 30, with no comorbidities or medications that could affect cardiovascular risk and no reported history of periodontal disease. At the lab, participants rinsed their mouths with water before rinsing their mouths with saline which was collected for analysis. Participants then laid down for 10 minutes for an electrocardiogram and stayed lying down for another 10 minutes so that the scientists could take their blood pressure, flow-mediated dilation, and pulse-wave velocity.

The scientists found that high white blood cells in saliva had a significant relationship to poor flow-mediated dilation, suggesting these people may be at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. The scientists hypothesized that inflammation from the mouth, leaking into the vascular system, impacts the ability of arteries to produce the nitric oxide that allows them to respond to changes in blood flow.

Reference: Oral inflammatory load predicts vascular function in a young adult population: A pilot study, Frontiers in Oral Health, DOI 10.3389/froh.2023.1233881