New research from Cleveland Clinic and Tufts University has shown that elevated levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a metabolite produced by the gut microbiome, are linked to a higher risk of heart failure. This risk is independent of other common heart failure risk factors, such as age and lifestyle.
The findings, published in *Circulation: Heart Failure*, were based on data from two large cohorts from the National Institutes of Health. The study emphasizes the role of TMAO as a potential marker for heart failure and suggests that it could be a target for future medical therapies.
The senior author, Dr. Stanley Hazen from Cleveland Clinic, noted that regular measurements of blood TMAO levels could predict the risk of heart failure, even among individuals who appeared healthy at the time of enrollment.
This research builds on prior studies linking TMAO with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, highlighting its significance as a potential predictor of heart-related conditions. The growing body of evidence underscores the importance of the gut microbiome in influencing cardiovascular health.
TMAO is a compound formed when gut bacteria digest nutrients, particularly those found in red meat and other animal products. Over the last decade, Dr. Hazen’s team has extensively studied TMAO and its association with adverse cardiovascular events like heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
This new study strengthens the connection between elevated TMAO levels and the development of heart failure, providing further evidence of its role as a biomarker for heart conditions.
The study followed nearly 12,000 healthy participants over almost 16 years, with more than 20,000 evaluations of TMAO levels. Out of these participants, 2,102 developed heart failure.
Even after adjusting for various cardiovascular risk factors and demographic variables, TMAO remained a strong predictor of heart failure. The results were consistent across different groups, indicating the robustness of TMAO as a risk factor for heart failure.
Dr. Hazen and his team are working on developing treatments that target the TMAO pathway, aiming to prevent its harmful effects. Early successes in lab and preclinical models suggest that halting TMAO production could be a promising pharmaceutical approach to treating heart failure and other related diseases.
This study is a collaboration between Dr. Hazen’s team and researchers from Tufts University, including Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian and Dr. Wilson Tang from the Cleveland Clinic, who played key roles in advancing the research.
