Oxidation Reduction in Heart Muscle

Abstract

MEASUREMENT of the extraction of substrates by the heart is the only means for obtaining information on possible alterations in cardiac metabolism in man or the intact animal; however, because of storage and interchange, arteriovenous differences re- flect only balances and give little information on pathways of intermediary metabolism.'In addition, the validity of balance studies depends on a steady state in which blood flow, arterial concentration, and tissue metabolism remain constant during the period of observa- tion.2Extraction of substrates, however, may reflect their fate in the cell, and thus can be utilized in the investigation of intermediary metabolism.It is the purpose of this report to point out that changes in the redox poten- tial of a certain redox system in the blood perfusing the heart muscle reflect alterations within the heart muscle cell.The information obtained will be utilized in the study of conditions in which alterations in redox potential accompany clinical manifestations of the myo- cardial disease. The Hydrogen Transfer SystemThe metabolic activities in cardiac muscle reflect the function that the heart performs.