Is pesticide exposure a real threat for heart function?

Pesticides are toxic substances or a mixture of substances that are naturally or chemically synthesized. They are widely used in agriculture to control plagues; however, since they are toxic to life, they are inevitably toxic to humans. Heavy use of pesticides has contaminated ecosystems. In Brazil, at least 27 pesticides are found in potable water, with a range of concentrations. Ministry of Health set concentration threshold levels for each pesticide, in theory not toxic, allowed to be found in potable water. However, in the literature, there is no systematic investigation of heart toxicity by these compounds at concentrations set by Ministry of Health. Also, there is no information if a mixture of these pesticides potentiates toxicity. Thus, to address these questions, in our laboratory we are applying a wide range of techniques and experimental models to address the following hypothesis: 1) if long term exposure to low doses of single or mixture of pesticides induces heart toxicity; 2) if pesticide induces unpredicted changes in heart excitability using in vitro models. At the end we will be able to determine the safety of potable water of Brazil in terms of pesticide contamination or if changes are needed in the guidelines of Ministry of Health.