Fish consumption, mercury exposure, and heart diseases.

There is increasing concern regarding methylmercury exposure in populations that consume large amounts of fish. This situation poses a dilemma for those who choose to consume fish for its beneficial effects on heart disease risk. Recent evidence suggests that high mercury content in fish may diminish the cardioprotective effect of fish intake. We explore the current knowledge of Hg toxicity on the heart and evaluate the epidemiologic evidence to date.