title: Arsenic cardiotoxicity: An overview.
abstract: Arsenic, a naturally ubiquitous element, is found in foods and environment. Cardiac dysfunction is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Arsenic exposure is associated with various cardiopathologic effects including ischemia, arrhythmia and heart failure. Possible mechanisms of arsenic cardiotoxicity include oxidative stress, DNA fragmentation, apoptosis and functional changes of ion channels. Several evidences have shown that mitochondrial disruption, caspase activation, MAPK signaling and p53 are the pathways for arsenic induced apoptosis. Arsenic trioxide is an effective and potent antitumor agent used in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia and produces dramatic remissions. As2O3 administration has major limitations such as T wave changes, QT prolongation and sudden death in humans. In this review, we discuss the underlying pathobiology of arsenic cardiotoxicity and provide information about cardiac health effects associated with some medicinal plants in arsenic toxicity.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Electronic address: alamolhodaein921@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Nafiseh Sadat
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Alamolhodaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacodynamy and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Electronic address: shiranik911@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Kobra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirani
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Research Center and Pharmacy School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Electronic address: karimig@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karimi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001151:Arsenic / Q000633:toxicity*; D066126:Cardiotoxicity; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Cardiotoxicity; Medicinal plants; QT prolongation