Metals Found in Air and Water Linked to Cardiovascular Disease and Death

Higher levels of six metals—cadmium, tungsten, uranium, cobalt, copper, and zinc—are directly linked to increased cardiovascular disease and mortality. Researchers at Columbia University found that study subjects who had a mixture of these six metals in their urine had an increased mortality risk of 66 percent. During the 18-year study, they also discovered that participants experienced a 29 percent increase in cardiovascular disease. “Growing evidence indicates that involuntary environmental exposures, including contaminant metals, play a pivotal role as modifiable risk factors for clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) and subclinical CVD and for all-cause mortality,” researchers wrote in the study, published in the journal Circulation on Thursday. “These findings can inform the development of novel preventive strategies to improve cardiovascular health.”...