[Effect of vitamins A and E on the contractile function of the heart in experimental myocardial infarction]

An experimental study in rabbits demonstrated that the animals treated with vitamins A and E (400 IU/kg and 0.4 mg/kg, respectively) in the presence of experimental myocardial infarction induced through ligation of the anterior descending coronary artery, showed a much more pronounced reduction of cardiac contractility as compared to the untreated animals with induced infarction or those treated with much higher doses (10000 IU/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively). Vitamins A and E administered in small doses to intact animals and rabbits with experimental myocardial infarction produced marked damage of lysosome membranes, whereas high doses of vitamins had no similar effect in either intact or experimental-infarction animals.