Heart health: Heavy metals may increase CV risk, study says [Video]

Exposure to heavy metals has been linked to cancer, neurological harms, and reproductive or developmental issues. Now, a new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide — cardiovascular disease.

Metal exposure — that can result from sources such as cigarette smoking, drinking water, pollution, and some foods or consumer products — is associated with accumulation of calcium in the coronary arteries, according to the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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“The magnitudes of these associations are striking, as they are comparable to those observed for classical … risk factors” such as smoking and diabetes, wrote cardiologists Drs. Sadeer Al-Kindi and Khurram Nasir of Houston Methodist and Dr. Sanjay Rajagopalan of University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute in Cleveland in …