Drinking water that is contaminated with arsenic may lead to thickening of the heart’s main pumping chamber in young adults, a structural change that increases the risk for future heart problems, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal.
Drinking water that is contaminated with arsenic may lead to thickening of the heart’s main pumping chamber in young adults, a structural change that increases the risk for future heart problems, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal.
“People drinking water from private wells, which are not regulated, need to be aware that arsenic may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. Testing those wells is a critical first step to take action and prevent exposure,” said Gernot Pichler, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., lead author of the study and medical specialist for Internal Medicine, Department of Cardiology at Hospital Hietzing/Heart Center Clinic Floridsdorf in Vienna, Austria, scientific collaborator at INCLIVA Health Research Institute in Valencia, Spain, and a visitor scholar in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University in New York City.
People are most frequently exposed to arsenic, a toxic metalloid, through drinking water in areas where groundwater is contaminated, including many American Indian tribal communities and other rural and suburban communities in the United States. Previously, several studies have shown that arsenic exposure raises the risk of heart disease and its risk factors, including high blood pressure and diabetes. This is the first study to review the question in young American Indians in Oklahoma, Arizona and North and South Dakota.
Read more at American Heart Association
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