Xanthine oxidase as a marker of myocardial infarction.

In the present communication, we report remarkably elevated levels of xanthine oxidase activity in the blood of the patients with myocardial infarction when compared to age and sex matched healthy persons. Highly significant increase of malondialdehyde, serving as an index of lipid peroxidation and thus free radical mediated damage, has also been found in the patients. We propose the measurement of the blood levels of xanthine oxidase, a very simple, reliable and less time consuming method as an indicator of myocardial infarction.