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• Posted September 18, 2024

Buildup of Metals in Body Can Worsen Heart Disease

Cadmium, uranium, cobalt: These and other metals found in the environment can collect in the body and exacerbate heart disease, new research suggests.

"Our findings highlight the importance of considering metal exposure as a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease," said study lead author Katlyn McGraw, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University in New York City.

"This could lead to new prevention and treatment strategies that target metal exposure," she added in a Columbia news release.

McGraw's team found that as levels of various metals rose in people's urine samples, so did evidence of stiffer, calcified arteries -- a key component of heart disease.

The research was published Sept. 18 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The Columbia team looked specifically at a process called atherosclerosis, the gradual hardening of blood vessels caused by a buildup of fatty plaques. Atherosclerosis can also lead to the buildup of unhealthy calcium deposits in arteries.

Are exposures to environmental toxic metals a contributor to all of this?

To find out, McGraw's team combed through a major database of more than 6,400 American middle-aged and older adults who were all free of heart disease when they joined the study between 2000 and 2002.

Urine samples tracked each participants' levels of six environmental metal already known to have links with heart disease: Cadmium, cobalt, copper, tungsten, uranium and zinc.

People are typically exposed to cadmium through tobacco smoke, while the other five metals are linked to agricultural fertilizers, batteries, oil production, welding, mining and nuclear energy production.

The researchers divided participants into four groups, ranging from lowest to highest urine concentrations of the various metals.

For cadmium, people placing in the highest one-quarter had levels of artery calcification that was 75% higher over the 10-year study period compared to those in the lowest quartile.

For urinary tungsten, uranium and cobalt, those numbers were 45%, 39%, and 47% higher, respectively.

People with the highest urinary levels of copper and zinc had calcification levels that were 33% and 57% higher, respectively, than those with the lowest levels.

There were also geographic hotspots for especially high levels of metals in urine. For example, people living in Los Angeles had markedly higher urinary tungsten and uranium levels, and somewhat higher cadmium, cobalt, and copper levels, the research showed.

McGraw believes the findings should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers concerned about the environment.

“Pollution is the greatest environmental risk to cardiovascular health,” she said. “Given the widespread occurrence of these metals due to industrial and agricultural activities, this study calls for heightened awareness and regulatory measures to limit exposure and protect cardiovascular health.”

More information

To find out more about atherosclerosis, head to the American Heart Association.

SOURCE: Columbia University, news release, Sept. 18, 2024