engleski

Some observations on the cardiovascular effects of lead and manganese

The presentation includes summarized data from the studies conducted in the Institute on lead exposure and blood pressure in animals, then on clinical observations on hypertensive effects of lead (during acute intoxications). A study dealt with blood lead, calcium level in daily diet, and blood pressure in the groups of non-smoking peasant women living in two regions of Croatia with significantly different both calcium intake and blood lead concentrations. The incidence of ischemic heart disease, hypertensive disease, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases of circulatory system was evaluated in inhabitants of a lead smeltery area (compared with a control area) in a longitudinal study over a period of eight years. The results showed the transitory hypertensive effect of lead during acute intoxication. There were also indices that long-term exposure to elevated lead levels, starting from the childhood, as well as repeated lead intoxications, may induce an increase in blood pressure values. It seems that, in addition to higher lead levels, low calcium intake contributes to such an effect. Exposure to moderate or high lead doses during pregnancy and lactation caused no effect on blood pressure either in mother rats or in their offspring. As far as manganese exposure is concerned, our epidemiological observations confirmed laboratory findings of the hypotensive effects of manganese on systolic blood pressure. It was suggested that the differences found in the behaviour of systolic and diastolic blood pressure indicated an action of manganese ions on the myocardium. Animal studies showed that dietary exposure to manganese was associated with a significant increase in the blood serotonin level together with a decrease in blood pressure that could be attributed to the elevated concentration of serotonin in the blood.

cardiovascular effects; blood pressure; lead exposure; manganese exposure; human data; animal studies

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