Mouthwashes Increase Heart Attack Risk, Scientists Claim
Antiseptic mouthwash has been branded a "disaster" for health by scientists who claim it raises blood pressure increasing the chance of heart attacks and strokes
Using antiseptic mouthwash can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, a new study has found.
Scientists branded the products, regularly used by half a million Britons, a health “disaster” claiming they raised blood pressure by killing off vital bacteria which helps blood vessels to dilate, the Mail on Sunday reported.
Using Corsodyl, which contains a powerful antiseptic and widely available in stores across the UK, can push up blood pressure within hours, the team discovered after testing it on a group of healthy volunteers.
Professor Amrita Ahluwalia, who led the study, said: “Killing off all these bugs each day is a disaster, when small rises in blood pressure have significant impact on morbidity and mortality from heart disease and stroke.”
When 19 volunteers started using Corsodyl twice a day their blood pressure went up by between 2 and 3.5 units (mmgh).
The differences in blood pressure were apparent “within one day” of the mouthwash being used, the study published in the journal Free Radical Biology And Medicine revealed.
A two-point rise in blood pressure increased the risk of dying from heart disease by seven per cent and stroke by ten per cent, according to separate research.
Heart disease and stroke are currently the biggest killers in Britain.
Prof Ahluwalia, from Queen Mary University of London, said: “We are not telling people to stop using antiseptic mouthwashes if they have a gum or tooth infection - but we would ask why anyone else would want to.”
Corsodyl contains 0.2 per cent by volume of the antiseptic chlorhexidine.
Antiseptic mouthwashes made by Boots and Superdrug contain the same concentration of the chemical.
By killing off bugs which help create nitrite, needed for the healthy dilation of blood vessels, the mouthwash caused nitrite production in the mouth to fall by over 90 per cent, and blood nitrite to fall by 25 per cent.
A number of mouthwashes, including Listerine, do not contain chlorhexidine.
Prof Ahluwalia said: “Other mouthwashes could still disrupt the healthy bacteria.”
But dental professionals have cautioned against drawing conclusions from such a small study.
GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures Corsodyl, said it was meant for short-term use to stop plaque and fight gum disease.
The pharmaceutical giant makes another product Corsodyl Daily, which contains just 0.06 per cent chlorhexidine for everyday use.
The spokesman said their own research had “not highlighted any concerns regarding the use of Corsodyl 0.2 per cent mouthwash as directed and increases in blood pressure.”
The mouthwash market is worth an estimated £180 million a year.
Miranda Prynne - telegraph.col.uk
