Magnesium, zinc, and manganese in atherosclerosis of the aorta.

Atomic absorption spectrometry was used in a quantitative study of zinc, magnesium, and manganese on 71 postmortal human aortas. Samples were obtained from accident victims 35-65 years of age. Fibrous plaques had higher levels of all three elements when compared to normal aortic tissue. The difference was significant for zinc (p less than 0.001) and magnesium (p less than 0.01). The high elemental levels may be both a cause and effect of atherosclerosis or the result of another unknown parameter.