Enzyme pattern in endomyocardial biopsies from patients with chronic heart diseases.

In endomyocardial biopsies from 67 patients with various chronic heart diseases (small vessel disease, cardiomyopathies and hypertensive heart disease) the isoenzymes of Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (ASAT) and Glycogen Phosphorylase (GP) were investigated and compared with a reference group without actual morphological and functional evidence of chronic heart disease. The analyzed parameters showed characteristical alterations dependent on the degree of hypertrophy of the heart muscle cells and the stage of the disease as assessed by left ventricular enddiastolic pressure (LVEDP), ventricular kinetics, left ventricular heart mass (LVHM) and exercise electrocardiogram. The biochemical alterations found reflect different metabolic situations in the myocardium and could be useful as additional information for assessing the severity of the disease.