Serum selenium deficiency in myocardial infarction and congestive cardiomyopathy.

Serum selenium concentration was prospectively measured using the method of thermoelectric atomic absorption spectrophotometry in 129 study participants distributed as follows in three groups: control group (n = 48) volunteers without known cardiac or lung disease; group I: patients with congestive cardiomyopathy (n = 48), group II: patients with myocardial infarction (n = 31). Serum selenium level was 84.73 +/- 1.79 micrograms.l-1 (m +/- sem) in the control group, 68.53 +/- 2.26 micrograms.l-1 in group I and 73.55 +/- 2.33 micrograms.l-1 in group II. The difference between group I and group II versus the control group was significant (p less than 0.01). There was no significant difference between group I and II.