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.
“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 …