High-fat diet and age alter microflora and cause inflammation in heart failure

Growing older and a high-fat diet enriched with omega 6 fatty acids are major contributors to health risks ranging from diabetes to heart failure. How these factors regulate the immune response is now described — a calorie-dense, obesity-generating diet in aging mice disrupts the composition of the gut microbiome. This correlates with development of a system-wide nonresolving inflammation in acute heart failure, with a notable disruption of the immune cell profile, primarily the neutrophil-leukocyte ratio.