NYT Brief: New Analysis Debunks Connection Between Gum Disease and Heart Attack

[Poll_Blind]

A New York Times News Brief:
[div class="excerpt" style="border-left: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-right: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius: 0.3077em 0.3077em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]New Analysis Debunks Connection Between Gum Disease and Heart Attack [div class="excerpt" style="border-left: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-right: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3077em 0.3077em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]For 20 years, researchers have reported a link between gum disease and heart attacks or stroke, but a new analysis finds that claim seriously flawed — so much so that the American Heart Association issued a rare scientific statement on Wednesday concluding that gum disease has not been shown to raise the risk of cardiovascular illness, let alone cause it. The statement added that treating gum disease either professionally or by regular brushing and flossing has not been proved to reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke. The statement reflects a three-year analysis of about 600 studies by an expert committee, led by a dentist and a cardiologist. It was endorsed by the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs.

I'm going to keep pretending it does, though. I figure it's win-win.

PB

[Recursion]

1. Yeah, I hope what the public takes from this isn't "it's fine to ignore gum disease" (nt)

[madokie]

2. I just go ahead an live like I have heart disease whether I do or don't

Being forewarned and all that

In my way of thinking if we didn't have a for profit health care industry more time would be spent on trying to figure out what causes diseases so as to possibly eradicate them. As it is today the money is with treatment not on cure.

[Ratty]

3. I asked my dentist about this last time I was there

Cause I couldn't figure out why there was a link - what the mechanism was. My dentist is really on top of the latest science so I knew he'd know. He said "we don't know." Nobody knows the mechanism. Nobody knows if it's causative or sympotomatic. All anybody knows is that there is a link.

I don't floss enough and my family has a history of heart disease, so I'm happy.

[Poll_Blind]

4. I think the idea was that poor oral hygene could allow streptococcus bacteria to get into...

...the bloodstream and streptococcus causes blood clots when it enters the bloodstream.

Too many of these buggers and you get a heart attack or a stroke. At least that was the reasoning I'd heard.

PB