Pretreatment with antioxidants and allopurinol diminishes cardiac onset events in coronary artery bypass grafting

Oxygen-derived free radicals constitute one part of the etiologic factors for cardiac onset harmful events. Allopurinol is able to reduce the generation of free radicals. Vitamins E and C scavenge radicals after their formation. Eighty-one patients with coronary artery disease were randomized into four study groups: Group 1 (n = 20) patients had stable disease and received oral vitamin E for 4 weeks, and vitamin C and allopurinol 2 days before and 1 day after coronary artery bypass grafting. Group 2 (n = 25) consisted of their controls. Group 3 patients (n = 17) had more unstable disease and received the same medications as group 1, except that vitamin E was given only 2 days before the operation. Group 4 (n = 19) was their controls. Groups 1 and 3 had fewer ischemic electrocardiographic events and required less dopamine perioperatively than corresponding control groups 2 and 4. Group 3 had fewer perioperative infarctions and less creatine kinase-MB release than the respective controls (group 4). Plasma levels of vitamins E and C, urate, and total free radical trapping ability were considered to support the theory about the role of free radicals in reperfusion injury. Especially the unstable patients, but also patients with stable coronary artery disease requiring coronary artery bypass grafting benefit from perioperative allopurinol and vitamin E and C treatment.