Gastroenterocardiology: Or what do the gut and the heart have in common?
The gut microbiota of our organism is a community of bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses and parasites that make up a unique ecosystem in the digestive tract, which consists of about 1014 microorganisms. The diversity of this community between individuals occurs because of the differences in the host genome and the impact of environmental factors, including hygiene, diet, lifestyle and the use of different drugs. Significant evidence suggests that changes in the microbiota could play a role in cardiovascular diseases. The results of research papers for the last two decades have confirmed that altered gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis) contributes to the development of various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic inflammatory bowel disease and even certain types of cancer. There is growing evidence that in the future, apart from current predisposing factors for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors, one should count on new risk factors such as nutritional disproportion and gut dysbiosis. Thus, we look upon the relationship between the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system, i.e. the "gut-heart axis" in a new way.