Structural and functional features of the myocardium in residents of the industrial region of the Far North under the exposure to nickel and arsenic

The study of the role of chemicals of industrial origin in the development of cardiovascular pathology determines the relevance of this study.

The purpose of the work is to study the features of cardiac structural and functional disorders in residents of the industrial region of the Far North under the exposure of nickel and arsenic.

Materials and methods. The study included one hundred fifty eight women living in the industrial center of the Far North with the location of large metallurgical enterprises (observation group) and 65 women living in similar climatic and geographical conditions, but without the location of industrial enterprises (comparison group). An echocardiographic study was carried out with the measurement of structural and doppler parameters of the heart on an expert-class ultrasonic scanner “Vivid q”.

Results. In the observation group the values of myocardial performance indices (MPI) values for mitral annulus (0.55 ± 0.09 vs. 0.48 ± 0.07, p=0.005) and tricuspid annulus (0.57 ± 0.10 vs. 0.48 ± 0.06, p=0.001) were higher than in the comparison group. A gain in the concentration of nickel in the blood is associated with an increase in isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) of the mitral atrioventricular ring (p=0.0001) and systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery (p=0.00002). An increase in the concentration of arsenic in the blood is associated with an increase in the filling pressure of the left ventricle (E/Em) and end diastolic diameter of the left ventricle (EDD LV) (p=0.0001), the diameters of the right ventricle (RV) and right atrium (RA) (p=0.0001), and rate of late diastolic filling of the RV and MPI of the tricuspid atrio-ventricular ring (p=0.0001).

Limitations. This study did not include middle aged and elderly women, and also did not include male patients and did not include the population of other territories except the Far North. 

Conclusion. The revealed changes in echocardiographic parameters indicate subclinical dysfunctions of the myocardium of the left and right ventricles, affecting both systolic and diastolic function in residents of the industrial city of the Far North, living under the influence of nickel and arsenic.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study program was approved by the ethics committee of the FBSI «Federal scientific center for medical and preventive health risk management technologies» (protocol No. 10 dated June 05, 2019). 

Patient consent. Each participant of the study (or his/her legal representative) gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study and publish personal medical information in an impersonal form in the journal "Health Care of the Russian Federation".

Contribution of the authors:
Nosov A.E. — collection of material, statistical processing, text writing;
Ustinova O.Yu. — concept, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of its final version.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of the interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: August 12, 2022 
Accepted: September 07, 2022
Published: December 12, 2022