Study links heart disease deaths with high lead levels in blood

"New research indicates that older women with high levels of lead in their blood are likely to die sooner from heart disease than those with lower lead levels, Reuters reported. The 12-year study followed 533 women aged 65 to 87 years old and showed that those women with lead concentrations above 8 micrograms per deciliter of blood were 59 percent more likely to die of any cause. They were also three times more likely to die of heart disease than women with lower blood lead levels, the study said. Dr. Naila Khalil of University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and colleagues wrote in BioMed Central's online journal Environmental Health that environmental lead exposure continues to be a public health concern, despite declines in blood lead concentrations during the past 30 years." - redOrbit