Does BPA Exposure Harm the Heart?

A common environmental contaminant may be increasing the risk for heart disease. Bisphenol A or BPA for short is widespread in food packaging. It is in the plastic resin that is used to line most cans that contain food or beverages. It is also found on many cash register receipts and in clear hard plastic containers.
Now a team of British scientists has found that exposure to BPA is associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Over 1,500 people were recruited from Great Britain and provided urine samples in which their BPA levels were measured. The team followed these volunteers over the next decade. The subjects who had higher levels of BPA initially were more likely to develop coronary artery disease. This isn’t the first time that BPA has been linked to heart disease. Although these are associations with no proof of cause and effect, there is growing concern that BPA may have negative effects on human health.
[Circulation, online February 21, 2012]