Instead it appears that they simply share causes.

This is important because gingivitis (which luckily appears to be more
rare in ferrets than once thought except for ones who have to be on
slurry diets longterm due to illness) in ferrets led to some people
panicking with worries that their ferrets would be susceptible of heart
disease if they fed kibble even though there was no evidence to support
such a concern. (Back then people also blamed kibble for gingivitis in
ferrets but the people who originated that concept have since admitted
that it is not so.)

Not that long ago (a year? 3 years?) work came out showing that there
are shared genetic susceptibilities, and now some new work exist
showing that typically they simply share causes.

So, besides shared genetic causes of vulnerability, why are circulatory
disease and gum disease often seen together?

In the past, even though some people acted as if the causality chain
was known rather than just being hypothetical, there were two
postulated causality chains which blames one on the other. The most
known was the one that said that infected gums can allow bacteria
into the blood stream. The other one said that heart disease created
insufficient circulation to the gums which left them vulnerable.

Here is the latest:

BEGIN ABSTRACT

Circulation. 2012 Apr 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Periodontal Disease and Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease: Does the
Evidence Support an Independent Association?: A Scientific Statement
From the American Heart Association.

Lockhart PB, Bolger AF, Papapanou PN, Osinbowale O, Trevisan M, Levison
ME, Taubert KA, Newburger JW, Gornik HL, Gewitz MH, Wilson WR, Smith SC
Jr,Baddour LM; on behalf of the American Heart Association Rheumatic
Fever, Endocarditis, and Kawasaki Disease Committee of the Council on
Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, Council on Epidemiology and
Prevention, Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease, and Council on.

Abstract
A link between oral health and cardiovascular disease has been proposed
for more than a century. Recently, concern about possible links between
periodontal disease (PD) and atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD)
has intensified and is driving an active field of investigation into
possible association and causality. The 2 disorders share several
common risk factors, including cigarette smoking, age, and diabetes
mellitus. Patients and providers are increasingly presented with claims
that PD treatment strategies offer ASVD protection; these claims are
often endorsed by professional and industrial stakeholders. The focus
of this review is to assess whether available data support an
independent association between ASVD and PD and whether PD treatment
might modify ASVD risks or outcomes. It also presents mechanistic
details of both PD and ASVD relevant to this topic. The correlation
of PD with ASVD outcomes and surrogate markers is discussed, as well
as the correlation of response to PD therapy with ASVD event rates.
Methodological issues that complicate studies of this association are
outlined, with an emphasis on the terms and metrics that would be
applicable in future studies. Observational studies to date support an
association between PD and ASVD independent of known confounders. They
do not, however, support a causative relationship. Although periodontal
interventions result in a reduction in systemic inflammation and
endothelial dysfunction in short-term studies, there is no evidence
that they prevent ASVD or modify its outcomes.
PMID: 22514251 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

END ABSTRACT

So, what that basically says is: Yes, the two diseases are often seen
together, but, No, there is not evidence that gum disease causes
circulatory disease. They instead have risk factors in common.

So, a series of hypotheses and myths which caused panic when used
together among a few people in the past can probably be very well laid
to rest. If anyone tries to panic any of you on this regard you can see
past info and add it to this to debunk their panic-mongering. THIS is
a great illustration of exactly why it is so very, very important to
remember what is hypothetical compared to what has sufficient evidence
behind the claim.

That said, almost all the work on this regard has been in humans, so
take that into account because ferrets are not people, and to our loss
sometimes people are not ferrets.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 7425]