The gut-heart connection: how the microbiome influences cardiovascular health

The gut-heart connection has emerged as a significant area of research, revealing how gut microbiota influences cardiovascular disease (CVD) pathophysiology. The gut microbiota has a significant impact on cardiovascular health through its involvement in endothelial function, systemic inflammation, cholesterol metabolism, and metabolic balance. Atherosclerosis, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and heart failure have all been linked to dysbiosis, an imbalance in the makeup of microorganisms. Important metabolites produced by microorganisms have a direct effect on vascular integrity, thrombosis risk, and lipid metabolism. These include trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and secondary bile acids. There is potential for lowering the risk of CVD by addressing the gut microbiota through dietary changes, probiotics, prebiotics, and customized microbiome-based therapies. Implementing microbiome-based cardiovascular therapy is still hampered by differences in gut microbiota makeup, difficulties with clinical translation, and the requirement for standardized procedures. This review examines existing treatment approaches, future directions in microbiome research, and the processes underpinning the gut microbiome's influence on CVD. Establishing microbiome-targeted therapies in clinical cardiology requires extensive, long-term research incorporating multi-omics techniques.