Infl uence of coal-rock dust on the risk of developing morphological disorders of the cardiovascular system

Cardiovascular pathology prevails in the structure of somatic diseases of miners. As a complication of pneumoconiosis, the development of a chronic pulmonary heart in workers against the background of pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure is considered. Data from clinical studies also indicate remodeling of the blood vessel wall, the formation of atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction and others. There are practically no in-depth comprehensive studies on the contribution of industrial dust to the development and course of this pathology. To implement this task, the simulation of occupational diseases in animals helps to trace the dynamics of the pathological process from the moment of exposure to the body of the production factor.

The aim of the study is to study the infl uence of coal-rock dust on the risk of developing morphological disorders of the cardiovascular system in an experiment.

Experiments were conducted on white non-linear male rats that were exposed to inhaled coal-rock dust of the “gas-fat” brand. For histological study in animals aft er 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks of exposure to the damaging factor, fragments of the brain, lungs, heart, liver and kidneys were taken. The quantitative content of matrix metalloproteinases, their inhibitor and vascular endothelial growth factor in blood plasma was studied using enzyme immunoassay.

Morphological changes in the heart muscle and blood vessels are a systemic response of the body to prolonged inhalation of coal-rock dust. Violations develop from the moment of exposure to the damaging factor, so they can be considered as one of the manifestations of pneumoconiosis, and not its late complication. In the early stages of the experiment (1-3 weeks), the development of diff use protein dystrophy of cardiomyocytes with pronounced thickening of some fi bers due to cell hypertrophy is noted in the heart muscle of experimental animals. Increasing the timing of seed leads to the progression of  pathological changes, increased apoptotic activity of cells and the accumulation of lipofuscin granules in the perinuclear zone, as well as the formation of atrophic damage in muscle tissue. By the 12th week of the experiment, diff use cardiosclerosis and pronounced dystrophy of cardiomyocytes with fragmentation and myocytolysis of individual sections of muscle fi bers develop in the heart muscle. Long-term inhalation of coal-rock dust causes progressive development in the wall of blood vessels, regardless of their organ affi  liation, of the same type of pathological changes in the form of endotheliosis, diff use hypertrophy of the smooth muscle component of the medial layer and perivascular fi brosis against the background of pronounced microcirculatory disorders.

The obtained results indicate the need for pre-nosological diagnostics of cardiovascular diseases and their prevention among miners working in harmful working conditions. 

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