Collagen metabolism in patients with myocardial infarction.

The healing of myocardial infarction is accompanied by an increased accumulation of collagen in the heart muscle. Indexes of collagen metabolism (serum hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine and collagen-like protein concentration) were measured in 60 patients with myocardial infarction and 30 healthy blood donors. Determinations were carried out 1, 2, 3 days after admission and between the 10th-14th and 21st-25th day of the illness. It was found that hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine decreased in the first days of the disease, and subsequently increased in the course of the healing process accompanied by an increased collagen-like protein level. The changes did not depend on the total protein concentration.