ABSTRACT:

World health organization reported cardiovascular disease as the first cause of mortality for five consecutive years of 2010-2014. Smoking is an exogenous source of metals contamination in the human body and attributed to 12% of all deaths among adults aged over 30 years. This is the first study carried out to elucidate the contribution of the personal habits as smoking and the physiological process as aging on lead homeostasis and deposition in different storage sites of the human body especially on the cardiovascular system in Jordanian cadavers. 120 biological samples (coronary artery, ribs, and blood) were obtained from 40 Jordanian cadavers passed away in car accidents aged between 8 and 97. Samples were analyzed for lead levels using graphite atomic absorption. Mean lead concentrations for coronary artery (C-Pb), ribs (R-Pb) and blood (B-Pb) were 3.01 µg/g, 2.71 µg/g and 5.96 µg/dl, respectively. A significant correlation was demonstrated between both B-Pb and C-Pb levels (r= 0.273 P<0.05). A significant increment was demonstrated in lead levels in grade I and II of the atherosclerotic coronary arteries, whereas, there was no significance in the increase of lead levels in grades III, VI, and V. Duncan’s test showed a significant correlation in levels of B-Pb and C-Pb with smoking and age. Eventually, lead intoxication emits an initiation effect on the endpoint cardiovascular disorders even though the blood lead levels were within recommended exposure range but still these levels are conveying deleterious side effects on the cardiovascular system.