Low Chromium, High Heart Attack Risk

A recent study links the level of the mineral chromium in the body to the risk of heart attack in men. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have shown that a low level of chromium in the body indicates an increased risk of heart attack.

It had been previously demonstrated that chromium intake influences the factors that benefit the health of the heart (it increases insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, the ratio of high density lipoprotein cholesterol to low density lipoprotein cholesterol), but little epidemiological evidence on the association between chromium and heart disease has been brought.

The research was performed on 684 male patients, selected from hospitals in eight different European countries and Israel, who had had myocardial infarction. Chromium was measured in toenail samples of the participants, as toenail clippings contain evidence on the levels of chromium over the long-term.

Results were compared to those of a control group of men who had never had a heart attack. It was noted that the study group had an average of 1.10 mug/g of chromium, as compared to 1.30 mug/g on average in the control group, which means a 15% lower level of chromium in the study group.

Researchers also found that men with the highest levels of chromium in the study group were 35 per cent less likely to have a heart attack than those with the lowest levels. Their study is important because it shows the importance of chromium for cardiovascular health.

Nutrition 21, the manufacturer of a chromium supplement, called chromium picolinate, claims that it has more than 50 scientific studies in support of the fact that the supplement reduces risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and related diseases. It is currently awaiting FDA approval, while the UK's Food Standards Agency has already decided that chromium picolinate is safe for use as a supplement.

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