G<\/span>um disease has several causes, including plaque, leftover food, poor diets, tobacco use, and other health issues.<\/p>\n Plaque buildup starts as an inflammatory response. The beginning of gum disease is also known as gingivitis. In this stage, the gums swell and cause discomfort. Many people will stop brushing as often, believing that will help. Unfortunately, it just gives infections time to settle in.<\/p>\n Periodontal disease can pull gums back from the teeth. This creates pockets that bring bacteria in and are hard to clean out. This seldom clears up on its own. If left alone, gingivitis can cause pain, cavities, and tooth loss.<\/p>\n But what does that have to do with heart health?<\/p>\n Our mouths are constantly exposed to bacteria. We breathe in or ingest an incredible number of germs each day. Sometimes, those germs take hold, causing oral infections. Sadly, any oral infection can move farther into our bodies. While these infections travel through the body, they can infect your heart\u2019s valves. This could lead to major damage to the heart, blood clots, and more.<\/p>\n Even without infection, there are already links between gum and heart health.<\/p>\n Nearly two-thirds of seniors already have both heart and periodontal disease. This puts them at a higher risk for infections and heart attacks.<\/p>\n Dr. Moise Desvarieux conducted a study and found that those with gum disease were far more likely to have atherosclerosis than those without it. In this condition, plaque begins to build up in an artery. As time goes on, more plaque builds, and it can harden the artery, making it difficult for blood to pass through. Whenever clots occur, they get stuck in these tight spaces, causing heart attacks and other events. The resulting blood clots had the same bacteria in them as infected tissues such as gums.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the blood clots that Dr. Desvarieux found could easily cause a stroke, too. This means people with severe periodontal or gum disease could easily suffer either a heart attack or stroke. Your risk only increases with your age, doubling with every decade you live as a senior. Between ages 60 and 79, nearly 7% of both men and women have had a stroke.<\/p>\n Some physicians aren\u2019t convinced. Dr. Christine Jellis, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, believes the links are circumstantial at best<\/a>. Despite some correlation, Jellis said, \u201cNo research is strong enough to link gum disease and cardiac disease, heart attack, or stroke.\u201d It is important to note that correlation doesn\u2019t mean there is causation.<\/p>\n Although some believe that antibiotics may help curb some of the risks, it\u2019s not been shown. Others believe the biggest connection is inflammation. A third group says these correlations can be explained by another factor. Smoking, for example, can lead to poor oral health and cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll need more research to tell what the exact links are between gum and heart health. Regardless of why the link exists, there are steps you can take to limit your risks of both heart and gum disease.<\/p>\n The heart is a muscle, and it needs exercise. Staying active will help improve your overall health and your heart health. Exercising can also help you stay as healthy as possible and lengthen your life!<\/p>\n The goal should be to average a half-hour of aerobic activity each day. If you\u2019re not there yet, start small and work your way up to it. Activities such as swimming, hiking, running, and biking are all great cardio workouts. Even chair dancing counts! Be sure to incorporate light weights and stretching whenever possible for a well-rounded routine.<\/p>\n Tobacco in any form can contribute to oral cancer, dry mouth, and heart disease. After a year of being tobacco-free, your heart disease risk will have been cut in half. After five years, your risk of having cancer in your mouth and throat will have gone down by half, and your stroke risk will have dropped to that of an average person.<\/p>\n Plus, quitting tobacco brings many other positives. Your ability to taste your food will improve, along with your sense of smell. You\u2019ll begin to look healthier, trading in yellow teeth and nails for shiny white ones. You\u2019ll also cut your risk of gum disease and tooth loss.<\/p>\n Stress can wreak havoc on our bodies. Dental issues are common during periods of stress, especially as it\u2019s easy to grind our teeth in our sleep. Although it\u2019s common to get ill at certain times of the year, stress hits our immune systems hard. Since growing older can make it harder to recover, lowering your stress can help protect our lives. Stress can also lead to losing your hair, vision, and hearing. Lowering your stress levels can help protect your heart.<\/p>\n Consider looking into meditation, yoga, or other relaxing activities. Spending time in nature can have an incredibly calming effect, as can being more physically active. Adopting a pet from your local animal shelter, gardening, and dancing are all great ways to blow off steam.<\/p>\n For many seniors, it can be difficult to manage everything on their to-do lists. From exercising to eating healthy and going to medical appointments, it can become overwhelming. Having a dedicated senior caregiver<\/a> can help with them all.<\/p>\n Caregivers can help with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as dental hygiene. After all, your home health aide is there to assist you in making the most of each day. If you need assistance maintaining dental health, a caregiver can help you floss, brush your teeth, and make dental appointments. Thankfully, they can also help with everything on this list. They can get us out and active, help us ditch the cancer sticks, and help us relieve stress through laughter.<\/p>\n Just as dentists can identify gum disease early, physicians are able to detect heart disease quickly, thanks to technological advancements. Make sure you\u2019re following up with both regularly.<\/p>\n Whatever moves you to improve and maintain your gum and heart health, be sure to keep your health providers in the loop. They may be able to provide guidance and assistance.<\/p>\n What does gum disease have to do with heart health?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2020","category-winter-2020-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9633"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9687,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9633\/revisions\/9687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Get Moving<\/h3>\n
2. Toss the Tobacco<\/h3>\n
3. Practice Stress-Reducing Techniques<\/h3>\n
4. Consider Hiring a Senior Caregiver<\/h3>\n
5. See Your Dentist and Doctor Regularly<\/h3>\n
Susan Ashby is community relations manager of Superior Senior Care<\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"