Gut microbia translocation induces inflammation after STEMI

Post-infarction cardiovascular remodeling and heart failure are the leading cause of myocardial infarction (MI) -driven death during the past decades. Experimental observations have involved intestinal microbiota in the susceptibility to MI in mice; however, in humans, identifying whether translocation of gut bacteria to systemic circulation contributes to cardiovascular events post-MI remains a major challenge. Here, we carried out a metagenomic analysis to characterize the systemic bacteria in a cohort of 49 healthy control individuals, 50 stable coronary heart disease (CHD) subjects, and 100 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. We report for the first-time higher microbial richness and diversity in the systemic microbiome of STEMI patients. More than 12% of post-STEMI blood bacteria were dominated by intestinal microbiota.