Among non-cancer effects of arsenic, cardiovascular diseases have been well documented; however, few are known about the arsenic fate in cardiovascular tissues. We studied the analytic bioinorganic arsenic behaviour in cardiovascular tissues from an arsenic exposure coronary heart disease patient group from Antofagasta-Chile against a small unexposed arsenic coronary heart patient group. Total arsenic concentrations were measured in pieces of cardiovascular tissues of the arsenic-exposed and unexposed coronary heart patient groups by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS); speciation analysis was made by high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). Pieces of auricle (AU), mammary artery (MAM), saphenous vein (SAP) and fat residuals (FAT) were considered in this study. The arsenic concentrations in AU and MAM tissues were significantly different between both groups of patients. Also, it was demonstrated that the AU is an ‘As3+ target tissue.’ Otherwise, linking of the total concentrations of arsenic with conditional variables and variables related to medical geology factors allowed us to infer that the latter are more important for the cardiovascular risk of arsenic exposure in the Antofagasta region. Knowledge of total arsenic and the prevalence of the trivalent ion (As3+) in the AU of patients could contribute to understanding the effect of arsenic on cardiovascular diseases.

The concentration levels of As in the Chilean II Region of Antofagasta produces non cancer health outcomes such as cardiovascular diseases and in last term heart attack. On this study, the determination of total As content and main inorganic and organoarsenic species found in three heart tissues (auricle, mammary artery and fat) and the saphene vein of people living in the Chilean II Region, suffering coronary thrombosis has been carried out. Comparison with similar tissues of patients from other non-contaminated areas has been undertaken.The extraction of As species occurred in methanol: water (1:1) and As species determination have been used the tandem HPLC-ICP-MS using the Hamilton PRP X100 anion column. For total As determination has been performed by HG-AAS and ICP-MS.The auricle and in less extend the saphene support the higher As concentration (mean values of 7.7 and 2.5 µg g -1 , respectively), being As(III) the predominant species. Methylarsonate (MA) and dimethylarsinate (DMA) is not a favoured mechanism.The presence of high total As and high As(III) species content in the auricle and saphene of more contaminated people, the damage found in the saphene tissue and the global characteristics of the people under study in which the As stigmas are present in all of them, suggests that As could be involved in the cardiovascular diseases.

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