ABSTRACT
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
John A. Williams, II, and Michael P. Wu
Nachman Brautbar, M.D., Inc., Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
In the last 10 to 15 years, the scientific community has recognized that both
environmental and industrial pollution play a role in cardiovascular diseases. In
this chapter, we have addressed topics of public health importance and scientific
interest in the genesis and contribution of cardiotoxicity. We have approached
each chemical, or group of chemicals of interest, from an experimental animal
point of view through the human cardiotoxicity point of view. Much has yet to be
learned; however, the impact of air pollution and some industrial chemicals on
cardiotoxicity is substantial. Like in any aspect of medical toxicology, we have
tried to differentiate between indirect and direct cardiac toxicity; this however, is
not possible in many of the chemicals studied.
