The Perio & Cardio project, a collaboration between the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the World Heart Federation (WHF), is to promote awareness of the important links between periodontal and cardiovascular diseases, explaining how these two diseases can be fought together.

​Both periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases are common, widely spread, chronic non-communicable diseases, whose prevalence increases with age. There is scientific evidence of associations between the two forms of disease and periodontitis is associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke.

​There are common lifestyle factors that aggravate both periodontitis and cardiovascular disease – such as smoking, stress, obesity, diabetes, and an unhealthy diet. The early diagnosis, prevention, and co-management (by dentists and physicians) of both CVD and periodontitis is of the utmost importance.