In this episode, Associate Editor Dr. Keith Brunt (Dalhousie University) interviews lead author Dr. Shrushti Shah (University of Calgary) and expert Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic* (University of South Florida) about the exciting new study by Shah et al. that explores the relationship between the cardiovascular system and the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome contains nearly 40 trillion microbial cells, and major alterations to the gut microbiome can be determinants of health and disease. The research by Shah and co-authors as part of Alberta’s Tomorrow Project, which published in the Call for Papers on Women’s Health Research and Cardiovascular Disease, allowed for a matched unbiased omics study of serum biomarkers with concurrent fecal microbiota analysis to compare hypertensive and normotensive study participants. Did changes in circulating tryptophan in middle-aged women signal a risk for developing hypertension? Listen now to find out.

Shrushti Shah, Chunlong Mu, Grace Shen-Tu, Kristina Schlicht, Nils D. Forkert, Matthias Laudes, Harald C. Köfeler, and Jane Shearer Altered tryptophan metabolism and gut immune crosstalk in hypertensive middle-aged women Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published November 11, 2025. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00395.2025

*Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic is co-founder of Panthea Life and has an equity interest. No compensation was provided for this podcast appearance. Content is for educational purposes and does not constitute endorsement by APS.