Elevated concentration of postmortem blood cadmium yet not death cause

Two cases were here reported about abnormal elevation of cadmium concentration in postmortem heart blood of victims who died from non-cadmium poisoning. One dead showed her heart blood was 200-fold higher of cadmium concentration than the upper limit of healthy living people, with the other one demonstrating his 40-fold higher. The autopsy also revealed that different body parts were of discrepant blood cadmium concentration, with tissues being within normal range. Observations were further made about cadmium concentration in venous blood from 100 living people and heart blood from 50 non-cadmium poisoning victims. It was found that the 100 living people were all less than 5ng/mL of cadmium concentration in venous blood, and the 50 non-cadmium poisoning victims had the raised heart cadmium concentrations. There were 20% samples appearing their postmortem blood cadmium concentrations rose to 10 times more than the upper limit of normal, with some even reaching up to nearly 100 times higher. The elevated cadmium concentration of postmortem blood may result from the postmortem redistribution and diffusion of cadmium stored in tissues, e.g., liver, kidney. Thus, a suggestion should be here put that postmortem blood cadmium concentration must be not taken as the only diagnostic indicator for identifying cadmium poisoning but combined with other sample tests and life track survey.