The study, published in the current issue of the journal Circulation, was supported by four agencies of the National Institutes of Health.

Same Four Bacteria Keep Turning Up

These findings are the first report of a direct association between cardiovascular disease and bacteria involved in periodontal disease, inflammation of the gums that affects, to varying degrees, an estimated 200 million Americans, the researchers say. However, the results do not constitute proof that the bacteria cause cardiovascular disease, directly or indirectly, the authors point out.

"What was interesting to us was the specificity of the association," says Mo