Copper and ischemic heart disease

Abstract

Absolute or relative deficiency of copper is hypothesized to be of prime importance in the etiology of ischemic heart disease. According to recent estimates, only 25% of the diets in the United States contain the 2 mg of copper thought to be required daily by adults. Some of these diets have ratios of zinc to copper greater than those that have produced hypercholesteremia in animals. There are many epidemiologic associations between the ratio of zinc to copper and dietary characteristics, organ analyses, clinical status, and environmental features that relate the metabolism of these elements to the anatomy, chemistry, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology of ischemic heart disease. Animals deficient in copper or exposed to a high dietary ratio of zinc to copper, which can produce a relative copper deficiency, are hypercholesteremic and hyperuricemic, and have glucose intolerance and abnormalities of the electrocardiogram. Their hearts and arteries have abnormal connective tissue, lipid deposits, and inflammatory changes; they die suddenly, often with ruptured hearts. Hypercholesteremia and glucose intolerance have been found in men depleted of copper and in children with Menkes' disease, an inability to absorb copper.

Plasma copper and zinc and their relationships with plasma lipids, lipoproteins, lipase activity, and platelet aggregation in hypertension and diabetes.

“…It has been postulated that an imbalance of Cu and Zn metabolism is a major factor in the etiology of CHD [8] and that atherosclerosis and CHD have been characterized by elevated Zn and decreased Cu in the blood [19]. Also hypercupremia and hypozincemia have been observed in most other types of cardiovascular diseases including hypertension [20], renal failure and myocardial infarction [21].…”

“…An elevated intake of Zn has been found to cause a lowering of the "antiatherogenic" high-density lipoprotein or HDL [5], a lipoprotein that has been shown to be a very important and an independent risk factor in the development of CHD [6,7]. These observations led to the hypothesis that CHD is predominantly a disease caused by an imbalance with respect to Zn and Cu metabolism [8].…”

Trace Element and Mineral Nutrition in Ischemic Heart Disease

“…Zinc can inhibit copper utilization (Table 2). Changes in copper status explain the low serum cholesterol values found in acrodermatitis enteropathica (70,107) and Wilson's disease (47), the decreased cholesterol following the ingestion of calcium supplements (5,51,70) or the injection of ethylenediamine tetraacetate (5,108) and the hyperlipidemia and glucose intolerance of Menkes' disease (11,47,58). The hypercholesterolemia of pregnancy (5,108), the dyslipidemia associated with the ingestion of zinc supplements (2,11,47,58) and seasonal variations in cholesterol (2,45) probably are secondary to alterations in copper.…”

“…I have collected approximately 50 negative articles (2,11) since the first one in 1959 was found (12). No association between dietary fat and serum cholesterol was found in Framingham (13) or NHANES (14).…”

Plasma copper status in hypercholesterolemic patients

“…Furthermore copper deficiency was claimed to be the only nutritional insult that elevates cholesterol (Klevay et al, 1984). Hypercholesterolemia was also found to be one of the similarities that exist between animals deficient in copper and people with ischemic heart disease (Klevay, 1983). Copper deficiency is therefore offered as the simplest and most general explanation for ischemic heart disease .…”