It affects more than 20 per cent of the population, but few of us would think that constipation increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. However, a large new study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology found that it may be a significant risk factor for serious cardiac events. For the last eight years, Professor Francine Marques from the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University has been studying the links between our gut microbiome and cardiovascular disease.
Through that research, her team found that changes in the bacteria and substances produced in the gut, which influence cholesterol, inflammation and metabolic pathways, can either increase or reduce the risk of cardiac events. Constipation may be an unlikely, but significant risk factor for a heart attack. Credit: Getty Images They were also interested in the gut as an organ itself, beyond the microbiome it contains.
For instance, a thin wall of cells acts as a barrier keeping bacteria and other substances inside the gut. When the connection between these cells breaks down, and those bacteria and substances “leak” into the body, it can cause inflammation, which puts us at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Loading Gut leaks and dysbiosis (an imbalance of harmful bacteria that can promote disease states) can also affect how quickly food passes through the gastrointestinal tract, and cause constipation .
While some research looking at elderly, hospitalised patients had suggested a link between constipation and cardiac events, Marques and her team were interested in whether it predicted heart issues in healthy people. So for the new study, they analysed the data of more than 400,000 healthy, adult participants over nearly two decades..
