ABSTRACT
To evaluate the effect of smoking on blood levels of xanthine oxidase and malondialdehyde in acute myocardial infarction patients. The cross-sectional study was conducted from June to November 2013 and comprised myocardial infarction in-patients at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Hospital, Jamshoro, and Isra University Hospital, Hyderabad. Serum samples from age and gender matched smoking and non-smoking patients were investigated for the levels of xanthine oxidase and malondialdehyde by kit methods. Of the 88 serum samples investigated, 68[77.3%] belonged to men and 20[22.7%] to women. Among the 44 smokers, 35[79.5%] were men and 9[20.5%] were women. The overall mean age of the group was 49.6 +/- 8.0 years. Among the 44 non-smokers, 33[75%] were men and 11[25%] women. The overall mean age of the group was 50.9 +/- 8.4 Years. Smokers compared to non-smokers had significantly raised mean serum xanthine oxidase [0.31 +/- 0.05 vs 0.28 +/- 0.03mg/dl; p<0.05] and malondialdehyde [32.29 +/- 3.30 vs 30.30 +/- 2.87 micromol/L; p<0.04] levels. Smokers as against the non-smokers were at higher risk of developing acute myocardial infarction owing to increased level of oxidative stress caused by smoking