Investigation of Antioxidant Status in Coronary Artery Disease Patients

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly coronary artery disease (CAD), constitutes the leading cause of death across the world. They are responsible for the highest mortality rate in Iran. The traditional risk factors for CAD are smoking, obesity, hypertension, family history, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, enhanced oxidative stress is known as a novel risk factor for CAD. Objectives: The associations of oxidative and antioxidative markers were investigated relative to the occurrence and severity of CAD. Methods: A total of 286 participants, including 141 males and 145 females aged 30 - 70, were classified as CAD case and control groups, based on their coronary angiography results. The CAD severity scoring was done based on the number and extent of lesions in coronary arteries. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was assayed using the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) method. Meantime, malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured as a lipid peroxidation product. Results: The results demonstrated a significant increase in SOD activity (P = 0.019) and the uric acid concentration (P = 0.000) of CAD patients compared to the control group. Although no change was seen in GPx and CAT activity, as well as FRAP and MDA, a significant positive correlation was found between CAT and SOD activity (P = 0.011) and between FRAP and uric acid (P = 0.000) levels. Conclusions: The results suggest that some antioxidants are significantly associated with the severity of CAD, thereby helping predict the risk of cardiovascular events. However, extra studies are needed to endorse the significance of these findings.