Reduce your risk of acute coronary syndrome
Lightning and Thunder
When chest pain occurs, you just never know.
It might be dire – like a lightning flash before the thunder of a heart attack.
Or it might be mild – like a flashing dashboard light, warning that your vascular system may be due for maintenance.
When sudden reduced blood flow is the trigger behind any chest pain, these mild-to-serious conditions are called acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
Needless to say: Not good.
Danish cardiology researchers recently looked at a population study of more than 57,000 subjects, and came up with two important results. One: Healthy men with the highest intake of omega-3s from fish were significantly less likely to suffer an ACS event. Two: Unfortunately, this same link didn’t hold true for women.
But there are other ways omega-3s can help us women improve our health and lower our risk of ACS.
Extra protection
As I’ve mentioned before, your gums can play an important role in your heart health. In fact, heart disease is more likely among people with periodontitis. And, this type of gum disease may also play into ACS development.
In a Swedish study I told you about three years ago, researchers recruited 161 subjects with ACS. Another 161 healthy subjects without ACS were recruited for comparison.
When researchers measured bacteria in periodontal pockets between teeth and gums of each subject, bacteria levels were significantly higher among ACS patients. Deterioration of the bone that forms sockets around teeth roots was also much more advanced in the ACS group.
The lead researcher of the study explained that high bacteria levels trigger an inflammatory response that may play a key role in ACS development.
Sources:
“Dietary Intake of Total Marine n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Docosahexaenoic Acid and Docosapentaenoic Acid and the Risk of Acute Coronary Syndrome – a Cohort Study” Published online ahead of print in the British Journal of Nutrition, 10/14/09, journals.cambridge.org
“Bacterial Profile and Burden of Periodontal Infection in Subjects With a Diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome” Journal of Periodontology, Vol. 77, No. 7, 2006, joponline.org
