Autopsy Evidence Links Heavy Metal Exposure to Atherosclerosis

Every day, contaminated drinking water, tobacco smoke, food, and air pollution expose humans to heavy metals. Growing evidence suggests that heavy metal exposure is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. A new autopsy study comparing healthy and diseased coronary arteries adds weight to this concern, offering direct tissue-level evidence that heavy metal buildup may play a role in atherosclerosis.

Published in Biomed Hub, the study conducted in Turkey examined 28 tissue samples taken from 16 autopsy specimens with coronary artery disease (CAD), specifically coronary atherosclerosis, and 12 normal specimens. All samples were named separately and transferred to the study center in isotonic solutions and ice containers. The researchers determined the samples with coronary atherosclerosis by histological examination conducted by forensic pathologists. They dissected and inspected coronary arteries for the presence of plaques, stenosis, fibrous cap formation, lipid cores, and calcification. In unclear cases, paraffin-embedded tissue sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin were histologically confirmed. Researchers classified samples as non-atherosclerotic when they had no visible or histological signs of disease.

Using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method, the researchers conducted heavy metal analysis on 12 of 16 autopsy samples with CAD and all samples without CAD. They applied phosphatidylcholine/deoxycholate to the remaining four samples with CAD.

The study team examined 20 trace metal concentrations from the samples. The results revealed significantly higher concentrations of 12 metals in atherosclerotic arteries including magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al), sulfur (S), arsenic (As), platinum (Pt), antimony (Sb), and mercury (Hg). In both groups, levels of lead, cobalt, and cadmium were too low to be detected.

The study’s limitations include its small sample size, lack of detailed exposure history, and inability to assess cumulative systemic metal burden.

Despite those limitations, the researchers say the study provides important tissue-level evidence that heavy metal accumulation plays a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.