Recently you may have read or heard that "The American Heart Association (AHA) has said that Periodontal Disease (Gum Disease) is not a cause of heart disease." This statement was on virtually every news outlet including newspapers. What amazes me is that there was so little depth to this "news bite."
In fact, what the AHA said was that no one can say what the cause of heart disease actually is. By this, they mean that heart disease (the number one killer in the USA) is a "multi-factorial" disease. Heart disease has many contributors to its cause, and any of these contributors may indeed be the cause in any one patient. Contributors to heart disease include obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, genetics, periodontal disease, and other factors. No single factor might be the cause in any one case.
Inflammation and Heart Disease