Correlation between serum concentration of lead, mercury and cadmium with coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of mortality in the world. So, nowadays there is a continuing attempt to identify the risk of new factors. This study was aimed to evaluate the correlation between serum concentration of lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) with coronary artery disease. In this descriptive analytic study, serum concentrations of Pb, Hg and Cd were determined in 65 patients (35 women and 30 men) with coronary artery stenosis, and 65 individuals in control group (43 women and 22 men) were determined using atomic absorption machine without flame and compared using independent t-test, Chi-square and covariance analysis. It was observed that the mean concentration of lead, mercury and cadmium were significantly higher in patients (P˂0.05). The same result was also obtained after adjustment with other cardiovascular risk factors (P<0.05). The result of the present study showed that serum levels of heavy metals are associated with the presence of CAD.