ABSTRACT
Selenium in serum and whole blood was determined in patients (n = 88) with acute cardiac infarction, in patients (n = 62) with severe clinical symptoms and signs of angina pectoris excluding cardiac infarction, and a control group (n = 62). The average selenium concentration of the 62 patients in the control group was 1.00 +/- 0.17 mumol/l in the blood. The serum selenium concentration of the patients with cardiac infarction was significantly decreased as compared with the control group both on the first and tenth day (alpha = 1%) as well as after three months (alpha = 5%). On the twentieth day as well as six and twelve months after cardiac infarction no significant difference could be established. At all times after cardiac infarction, the blood showed a clearly decreased selenium concentration as compared with the control group. The difference was highly significant (alpha = 0.1%) on the first, tenth and twentieth day as well as after three and six months, and it was significant (alpha = 1%) after twelve months. On the first day, the average selenium concentration in the serum of the 62 patients with a severe attack of angina pectoris excluding acute cardiac infarction was 0.88 +/- 0.18 mumol/l and thus highly significantly below the values for the control group (alpha = 0.1%). The decrease on the tenth day (0.93 +/- 0.19 mumol/l) turned out not to be significant. The blood selenium concentration was highly significantly decreased on the first and tenth day (alpha = 0.1%). It was measured to be 1.12 +/- 0.19 mumol/l and 1.10 +/- 0.20 mumol/l respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
