EARLY PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF ANTIOXIDANT VITAMINS IN ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Abstract

Free radicals are chemical species possessing an unpaired electron in the outer orbit. Trying to make the single electron a paired one, the free radical attracts an electron from an adjacent molecule, converting that molecule into a free radical itself and so initiating a chain reaction. •Oxygen free radicals include: superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical and other reactive oxygen species. Free radicals attack polyunsaturated fatty acids leading to their degradation and formation of lipid peroxides. This lipid peroxidation is involved in the process of atherosclerosis. Free radicals are also involved in aeute myocardial infarction as they are generously liberated from neutrophils recruited into the acutely ischaemic myocardium and they are also involved in reperfusion injury.