Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 1996 Feb;3(1):18-25.

Trace elements and cardiovascular diseases

Affiliations
  • PMID: 8783027
Review

Trace elements and cardiovascular diseases

J P Houtman. J Cardiovasc Risk. 1996 Feb.

Abstract

The relation between trace elements and human health has been scarcely studied. With respect to cardiovascular diseases and hypertension attention has mostly focused on arsenic, cobalt, copper, chromium, fluorine, manganese, vanadium, zinc, selenium, silicon, cadmium, and lead. Environmental contamination can influence organ concentrations through long-term, low-level effects. This article reviews the present knowledge obtained by epidemiological, biochemical and cell biological studies. Attention is paid to interpretation problems due to the complexity of biochemical interactions with proteins of various sorts which determine metabolic processes and to the occurrence of detoxification mechanisms in which trace elements interact. This can also lead to strong variations in individual vulnerability. In general, the elements selenium, copper, zinc, chromium, and manganese seem to counteract the development of cardiovascular diseases, whereas cadmium and may be lead seem to stimulate it. Effects of arsenic, silicon and fluorine are unclear and for cobalt absent. The intensity of these effects on public health is difficult to measure, but is as yet probably limited except in extra-ordinary situations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

LinkOut - more resources

-