Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and financial
losses and has a high prevalence across the world. Several studies have investigated the association between
various CVD types with zinc and copper status as the essential minerals for the human body,
proposing contradictory and similar results. This narrative review aimed to survey the correlations between
zinc and copper status in the human body and some risk factors of CVD, as well as the assessment
methods of zinc and copper status in the human body. According to the reviewed articles, zinc
and copper deficiency may increase the risk of coronary heart disease, valvular regurgitation, and myocardial
lesions, cardiac hypertrophy. Furthermore, it could lead to the expanded mitochondrial compartments
of the heart, acute and chronic heart failure, and elevation of inflammation markers, such as
interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6. Two methods are primarily used for the assessment of zinc and copper in
the human body, including the direct method (measurement of their concentrations) and indirect method
(determining the activity of zinc- and copper-containing enzymes). Both these methods are considered
reliable for the assessment of the zinc and copper levels in healthy individuals. Serum or plasma
levels of these elements are also commonly used for the assessment of the correlation between zinc and
copper status and CVD. But, which one is a more accurate indicator in relation to CVD is not yet clear;
therefore, further studies are required in this field.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human ATP7B gene modify the properties of the ATP7B protein
