Iron Increases Heart Disease :: essays research papers

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) has afflicted man throughout history. Diet and hereditary factors obviously are the key components in developing this condition. Foods high in cholesterol and saturated fats are often implicated in hastening or aggravating heart disease. Many disease states such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension have also been shown to increase a persons chances for CAD. Heart disease usually affects persons over age 60, but can be seen in people who are much younger for various reasons. This disease remains the number one cause of hospitalization and death in the adult population in western society (McCance and Huether, 1994). The purpose of this literature review is to investigate research dealing with the subject of increased serum iron levels and the prevalence of CAD. Medical journals were primarily used for research data due to the nature of the subject and the need for in-depth analysis. While it has the highest prevalence of any disease, women experience only 30-50% of the coronary artery disease incidence and mortality of age-matched men (Meyers, 1996). Many feel that this may be due to the protective effect that estrogen has on the blood vessels of females. There may actually be a direct correlation to reduced serum iron levels due to menses. Whereas men " build-up" iron in the blood, women cleanse themselves of iron buildup on the monthly basis. Meyers (1996) also states that oxidation, the process in which an atom increases its positive charges (Miller and Keane, 1992), of low density lipoprotein cholesterol is important in atherosclerosis, and since oxidation is catalyzed by iron, it has been hypothesized that the lower iron stores of women reduce their risk of CAD through lessened lipid peroxide, a by-product of oxidation. Numerous studies have been conducted to actually see if a relationship between serum iron or serum transferrin, (serum iron concentration divided by total iron-binding capacity), and heart disease or myocardial infarction, (heart attacks) exists. Sempos and Looker, (1994) used a total of 4518 men and women to conduct the first study of its kind on the subject of iron and CAD. Frequent serum iron levels, collected from 1971-74, and followed up through 1987, showed the risk of CAD was not related to serum transferrin levels in white men or women. Indeed, an inverse association of total body iron stores and overall mortality was shown, that is moderate to high serum transferrin associated with lower mortality.