That’s because of the bacteria we all have on our tongues. It turns out, tongue microbes could actually be used to diagnose heart failure, according to Yuan’s research presented in June on HFA Discoveries, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology. Yuan and his team determined that the tongues of patients with and without heart failure not only looked different, but also had completely different microbiology—findings that could give doctors an important diagnostic tool to work with. The researchers took samplings of study subjects’ tongue coatings to identify bacteria. They found that all the tongues of patients with heart failure shared microorganisms, as did the tongues of patients with healthy hearts, but there was no overlap of bacteria between the two groups.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb While you probably won’t be able to stick out your tongue in the mirror and assess your own heart health, the results of this research could have a profound impact for medical professionals. In the future, your doctor might take a sampling of your tongue coating to determine if the bacteria present is associated with a healthy heart, or if your heart is in trouble. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. “Our study found that the composition, quantity and dominant bacteria of the tongue coating differ between heart failure patients and healthy people,” Yuan said. “More research is needed, but our results suggest that tongue microbes, which are easy to obtain, could assist with wide-scale screening, diagnosis, and long-term monitoring of heart failure.” And for more on heart health, learn these 30 Warning Signs Your Heart Is Trying to Send You.
