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Severe gum disease linked to heart disease

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Severe gum disease linked to heart disease

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Severe periodontitis -- chronic infection and inflammation of the gums -- is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, a U.S. study says.

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers found patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis generally had elevated plasma levels of a particularly bad subclass of the low density lipoprotein -- LDL -- called small-dense LDL.

The findings, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, suggest that it may be beneficial to test periodontitis patients for changes in their plasma lipoprotein profiles, so that available medication can be taken if necessary.

Previous research has shown that people who have predominantly small-dense LDL in their blood are at a three- to six-fold increased risk of heart disease and stroke," said lead author Rik van Antwerpen. "A person may have predominantly small-dense LDL without having alarmingly high blood levels of cholesterol. Therefore, unhealthy levels of small-dense LDL are not always detected in regular cholesterol tests."