Changes in the Cardiotoxic Effects of Lead Intoxication in Rats Induced by Muscular Exercise

Trace Element Concentrations in Autopsied Heart Tissues from Patients with Secondary Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathies (CMP) represent a significant health problem as they have a poor long-term prognosis and often require transplantation. Heavy metals are known to have cardiotoxic effects and some of them, such as cadmium (Cd), are found to be elevated in the urine and blood of individuals with heart diseases; nevertheless, direct measurement of metals (e.g. zinc (Zn) which is necessary for normal heart function), in the myocardium of individuals with CMP has not been performed. Here, we aimed to analyze the levels of a group of metals in the myocardium of the left ventricle in individuals with CMP. At the Institute of Pathology, we collected 52 samples of left ventricle post-mortem, out of which 19 subjects had been diagnosed with CMP (mean age: 72 y ± 10), and 33 subjects had not suffered from any heart disease (mean age: 67 y ± 15). We found out that individuals with CMP had a significantly higher concentrations of lead, nickel, manganese and copper than non-CMP subjects (p = 0.002, p < 0.001, p = 0.011, and p = 0.002). Interestingly, zinc was significantly lower in CMP subjects than in n-CMP individuals (p = 0.017). Our results indicated the involvement of an increased lead, nickel, copper and manganese heart load in individuals with CMP coupled with lower concentrations of zinc.

The Role of Trace Elements in Cardiovascular Diseases

Essential trace elements play an important role in human physiology and are associated with various functions regulating cellular metabolism. Non-essential trace elements, on the other hand, often have well-documented toxicities that are dangerous for the initiation and development of diseases due to their widespread occurrence in the environment and their accumulation in living organisms. Non-essential trace elements are therefore regarded as serious environmental hazards that are harmful to health even in low concentrations. Many representatives of these elements are present as pollutants in our environment, and many people may be exposed to significant amounts of these substances over the course of their lives. Among the most common non-essential trace elements are heavy metals, which are also associated with acute poisoning in humans. When these elements accumulate in the body over years of chronic exposure, they often cause severe health damage in a variety of tissues and organs. In this review article, the role of selected essential and non-essential trace elements and their role in the development of exemplary pathophysiological processes in the cardiovascular system will be examined in more detail.

Non-Uniform Bioaccumulation of Lead and Arsenic in Two Remote Regions of the Human Heart's Left Ventricle: A Post-Mortem Study

The extent of heavy-metal-induced cardiotoxicity is proportional to the levels of metal bioaccumulation, and it was previously assumed that heavy metals accumulate uniformly in the myocardium. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate concentrations of metals and metalloids in two distant regions of the left ventricle (LV), the base of the LV, and apex of the LV using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We also examined the potential correlation between metal levels and the thickness of the interventricular septum in twenty LV specimens (ten from the base of LV and ten from the apex of LV) from 10 individuals (mean age 75 ± 6 years). We found significantly higher concentrations of arsenic and lead in the LV apex compared to the base of the LV. We also found a positive correlation between the concentrations of arsenic in the myocardium of LV and the thickness of the interventricular septum. Our results indicate that arsenic and lead accumulate to a higher extent in the apex of the LV compared to the base of the LV. Therefore, future studies designed to measure levels of metals in heart muscle should consider non-uniform accumulation of metals in the myocardium.