Serum enzyme activities after cardioversion

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Cardiology
• Clinical enzymology

Background:

• Cardioversion is a medical procedure to restore normal heart rhythm.
• Serum enzyme levels are often monitored post-cardioversion to assess potential organ damage.
• Skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle share some enzymes, necessitating careful interpretation of results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in serum enzyme levels after cardioversion.
• To determine the origin and clinical significance of post-cardioversion enzyme elevations.
• To correlate enzyme changes with the number of direct current (DC) shocks administered.

Main Methods:

• Serum samples were collected from 94 patients before, 1.5 hours, and 24 hours after cardioversion.
• Levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST/SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT/SGPT), creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), and butyric acid dehydrogenase (BDH) were measured.
• Patients were grouped based on the number of DC shocks received.

Main Results:

• An increase in aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT) and creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) activity was observed 24 hours post-cardioversion.
• This enzyme elevation was more pronounced in patients receiving two or more DC shocks.
• No concurrent signs of myocardial damage were detected in the patient cohort.

Conclusions:

• Post-cardioversion increases in SGOT and CPK are likely due to skeletal muscle effects, not cardiac damage.
• The observed enzyme changes following cardioversion, especially with multiple shocks, appear to have no clinical significance regarding myocardial injury.
• Monitoring of these specific enzymes may not be critical for assessing cardiac health after cardioversion.