Arsenic Cardiotoxicity: An Overview

Publication date: Available online 3 September 2015 Source:Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology Author(s): Nafiseh Sadat Alamolhodaei, Kobra Shirani, Gholamreza Karimi Arsenic exposures, prevalent through dietary and non-dietary, imposes a serious hazard to global health. Human exposure to arsenic is associated with various cardiopathologic effects, including ischemia, arrhythmia, heart failure and sudden death. Possible mechanisms of arsenic cardiotoxicity include oxidative stress, DNA fragmentation, apoptosis and functional changes of ion channels. Several evidences have shown that mitochondrial disruption, caspase activation, MAPK signaling and p53 are the pathways of arsenic induced apoptosis. In this review, we discuss what is currently known about the cardiotoxicity effects of arsenic, with a focus on the putative mechanisms of toxicity, clinical presentations and detoxification. Finally, we present a brief review of the some valuable medicinal plants with cardioprotective properties against As-induced toxicity.
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research