Cardiovascular disturbances in workers exposed to carbon disulfide

According to literature data myocardial infarction was often the first noticeable effect of CS2 on the cardiovascular system. Therefore, a question arises whether earlier circulatory lesions are absent in CS2-exposed people, or they are present but are not detectable by the diagnostic methods used. The aim of our study has been to determine whether electrocardiological disturbances do occur in exposed people, and their association, if any, with the level of CS2 exposure. Modern diagnostic methods (resting and 24-h ECG, heart rate variability, late ventricular potential analysis, and long-term blood pressure monitoring) were used to answer this question. The examination comprised 177 male workers aged 24-66 years (44+/-12), employed under conditions of the exposure for 5-38 years (14+/-9), and 93 male workers non-exposed to CS2 aged 23-65 years (41+/-12). Results of our studies show that abnormalities in resting and/or 24-h ECG recordings occur significantly more frequently in people exposed to CS2 than in the controls. ECG abnormalities were found primarily among the workers with a long, over 20-year, period of exposure. The considerable coincidence between the questionnaire and ECG results was found (87% reported complaints were confirmed by ECG data). Therefore it seems that all CS2-exposed people reporting heart symptoms should be subjected to a detailed examination. The frequency of late ventricular potentials in CS2-exposed people was not higher than in the controls. It may indicate that the ECG disturbances observed in those people were associated with functional rather than organic changes. Results of long-term ABP monitoring did not show increased incidence of elevated blood pressure in the exposed group. As the levels of the risk factors of ischemic heart disease in the exposed and control groups were similar, it seems that exposure to CS2 was responsible for the significant changes in the circulatory system.