Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality and contribute most
to healthcare costs in the U.S. Age is the strongest cardiovascular disease risk factor, with
>90% of all deaths from cardiovascular disease occurring in adults >50 years old. The
age-associated increased risk of cardiovascular disease is due, in large part, to the
development of arterial dysfunction, including endothelial dysfunction and stiffening of the
large elastic arteries. Therefore, novel, effective interventions that improve arterial
function will have a large public health impact by decreasing the risk of cardiovascular
diseases.
The short-chain fatty acid acetate is endogenously produced by the gut microbiome from
fermentation of dietary soluble fiber. High-fiber diets reduce risk of cardiovascular
diseases, but unfortunately, a low percentage of Americans meet guidelines for adequate
dietary fiber intake and, despite nationwide efforts to improve this, trends in fiber intake
have not improved over the last 20+ years. Thus, directly supplementing acetate may be a more
practical and feasible intervention for effectively improving arterial function in older
adults and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
The investigators will conduct a study to determine the efficacy of 12 weeks of oral
supplementation with acetate for improving arterial function in late middle-aged and older
(50+ years) adults. They will also assess the safety and tolerability of acetate
supplementation in these adults and perform innovative mechanistic analyses to determine how
acetate supplementation improves arterial function. The investigators hypothesize that oral
acetate supplementation will improve arterial function by decreasing oxidative stress and
increasing nitric oxide bioavailability, and also hypothesize that acetate supplementation
will be safe and promote high rates of adherence.