Gut Microbiota: A New Marker of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the major cause of death in the developed countries. Moreover, the cardiovascular risk factors leading towards the development of CVD, mainly type 2 diabetes and obesity, are on the rise. The current preventive and therapeutic management, centred on the control of traditional risk factors, is clearly not enough to stop this pandemic. Therefore, the search for new biomarkers in CVD is a priority in most clinical research programs. Currently, interest in gut microbiota has peaked due to its association with cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular diseases. The present review considers the current situation regarding the influence of gut microbiota on CVD and particularly, its influence on the main traditional risk factors that lead to CVD, such as lipids, diabetes, hypertension and obesity.