Dental/Congestive Heart Failure Connection

Idiopathic cardiomyopathy: When the cause of heart failure is never identified it is referred to as idiopathic cardiomyopathy. This condition can be caused by past, unidentified viral or bacterial infections. Unfortunately most cardiologists do not investigate the possibility that existing dental infections can play a major role in causing congestive heart failure. According to Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, Ph.D., 70% of all medical problems have their origin in the mouth. From my own clinical experience over the past ten years, I believe this estimate may even be conservative. One of the primary reasons the dental component to the disease process is ignored is because in most instances the patient does not have any complaints about their mouth. Most infections in the mouth that provide a focus for causing distant medical problems do not present any swelling or painful condition. Most scenarios involve an old root canal tooth or post extraction site that harbors viruses or bacteria whose toxins disseminate throughout the body and concentrate in a particular organ, like the heart causing dysfunction for which physicians cannot find a cause. Approximately 90% of post extraction sites (mostly wisdom teeth but other sites can be involved) have a residual infection remaining in the jawbone that does NOT show up in regular dental x-rays. In my opinion, the major causes for this frequent occurrence are due to: failure to achieve primary closure of the soft tissue (gum) with sutures after tooth removal; failure to remove infected bone that lines the socket; leaving infected root remnants in the jaw bone resulting from root tip fractures; and if primary tissue closure is not possible failure to close the extraction socket with a resorbable sponge (gelfoam), which then allows bacteria and debris to enter the socket during the healing process.

Mrs. Jung’s husband, who is a practicing dentist in Soul, Korea, referred his wife to our office. Mrs. Jung, who is in her early 40’s, had been suffering congestive heart failure for ten years. Despite the fact that she was examined and diagnosed with CHF by leading cardiologists in Korea, her condition defied any positive response with medications and uncovering the source of her problem. Examination by direct resonance testing revealed the presence of a strep infection in the lower right jawbone area where a third molar was removed. Soon after the extraction the CHF symptoms appeared. Mrs. Jung’s primary symptoms included severe fatigue, memory loss and fog, shortness of breath and leg edema. Other CHF patients exhibit additional symptoms as note below.

Symptoms of heart failure vary and include the following:

• Fatigue
• Increased heart rate, palpitations
• Loss of appetite
• Memory loss, confusion
• Nausea
• Persistent coughing or wheezing
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
• Swelling (edema) of the feet, legs, or abdomen

The toxins produced by the residual strep infection are capable of weakening the heart muscle so that it is unable to adequately pump blood throughout the body and/or unable to prevent blood from “backing up” into the lungs. In most cases this process occurs over time, when an underlying condition damages the heart or makes it work too hard, weakening the organ.

Once the underlying pathogen, strep, was diagnosed, appropriate nutritional support was given to enhance the body’s immune system. Within six to eight weeks, Mrs. Jung’s CHF symptoms of ten-year duration totally resolved.

The toxins produced by the residual strep infection are capable of weakening the heart muscle …