Oxidative Stress in Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy represents a diverse group of heart muscle disorders, which are further classified on the basis of their anatomic and hemodynamic findings. Hearts with increased antioxidant capacity have been reported to be more resistant to in vivo and in vitro oxidative stress. On the other hand, cardiomyopathy with heart failure is accompanied by increased free radicals and lipid peroxidation and a relative deficit in ‘antioxidant reserve’ may contribute to the decompensated state. The aim of this study was to assess the status of oxidative stress by a study on level variation of pro-oxidant malonaldehyde (MDA) and antioxidant ceruloplasmin (Cp) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy of ischemic and idiopathic etiology. 76 dilated cardiomyopathy patients (52 men and 24 women, ages 2 years to 65 years) of which 42 are of idiopathic (primary cases) and 34 are of ischemic etiology (secondary cases), and 100 healthy volunteers matched for age and sex were considered for the level variation of MDA and Cp. A significant increase in the patient group compared to controls (P<0.01, 0.05), was observed in both pro-oxidant malonaldehyde and antioxidant ceruloplasmin levels, which can be correlated to membrane susceptibility to peroxidation as well as increased free radical generation in patients. We conclude that in patients with idiopathic or ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, increased antioxidant levels may be in response to the increased peroxidation. Thereby, protecting the heart muscle from further degradation/tissue injury and conferring resistance to free radical generation in such patients.