Abstract: The relationship between gut microbiota and its metabolites and cardiovascular disease is a hot topic in cardiovascular research. It has made great progress in the basic and clinical research of gut microbiota in regulating cardiovascular physiology and disease progress. Some studies at home and abroad have shown that metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), the gut microbiota, has become a key factor affecting the development of cardiovascular disease. In recent years, clinical studies on the relationship between TMAO and development and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases have also made some achievements. Plasma TMAO levels can be used as new biomarkers for the risk stratification, diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases in the future, and the prediction of the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and the major cardiovascular events (MACE). This paper reviews the research progress of TMAO as a new biomarker and potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases.

Key words: gastrointestinal microbiome, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO)