Monash team to study gut health for hypertension clues

New ways to treat high blood pressure are being investigated by a Melbourne team of scientists, who say the health of our gut may be the key.

A Melbourne study is set to ­investigate how inflammation occurs in the gut to see if it ­increases blood pressure.

One in three Victorian adults has high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for early death, yet for many the cause is a mystery.

High blood pressure, or ­hypertension, is an underlying cause in about half of all stroke cases and heart attacks.

Researchers at the Monash University School of Biological Sciences and Victorian Heart Institute, at the Victorian Heart Hospital, suspect the leakiness of a gut is may be at the heart of the hypertension.

Heart Foundation fellow and principal investigator Matthew Snelson says “leaky” refers to an inflamed gut lining that allows bacteria and other toxins to cross into the blood.

Dr Snelson is seeking volunteers for the non-invasive study to test gut leakiness.

Participants will drink a cup of water containing less than a teaspoon of different-sized sugars. If the gut is leakier, the bigger sugars will leak from the gut into the bloodstream.

Monash researchers suspect the leakiness of a gut may be at the root of hypertension.

Other tests will include eating a muffin to determine how long food takes to pass through the digestive system.

“If our hypothesis is correct the next step will be to understand what dietary (changes) or medications could target and improve a leaky gut,” he said.

“If it is causing (high blood pressure), can diet be one of the key approaches that can help to improve gut health?”

The team has been awarded a Vanguard Grant from the National Heart Foundation to carry out the investigation. Monash University’s Associate Professor Francine Marques, an investigator in the grant, says high blood pressure remains a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

“We still don’t fully understand how blood pressure increases in the first place and we don’t know why some people are resistant to blood pressure lowering medication,” she said.

“Our work has shown that the gut microbiota regulates blood pressure in mice and patients.

“A key factor that has been overlooked is whether hypertensive patients have a disrupted gut barrier permeability (leaky gut). This could be an important missing piece in how we treat elevated blood pressure.”

For more information on the HYPER trial, email [e-mail] or visit marqueslab.com/gut