Abstract: AIM: To explore the effects and mechanism of probucol on cardic function in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) heart failure.METHODS: 36 patients with ICM heart failure were randomly divided into probucol group and conventional therapy group (n=18 in each group). Both groups were given therapy of regulating blood lipid, antiplatelet, anti-ischemia and conventional anti-heart failure therapy. Probucol group was additionally given with probucol. The following changes of both groups were determined before and after treatment for six months respectively: cardiac function classification; blood lipids: total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); oxidative stress indices: oxidized low-density lipoproteins (ox-LDL), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD); markers of inflammation: high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR); echocardiography parameters: left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).RESULTS: After six months of treatment, compared with the conventional therapy group, probucol decreased the levels of MDA (P<0.05), decreased the level of ox-LDL (P<0.01), increased the level of SOD (P<0.01), and increased the improving rate of cardiac function in observation group (P<0.05). Compared with the conventional therapy group, there was a growing trend towards LVEF in the observation group, but there was no significant difference between two groups. After six months of treatment, compared with the conventional therapy group, the changes of TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, hs-CRP, ESR, LVEDD and LVESD by Probucol had no statistical significance.CONCLUSION: The effect of probucol on ICM heart failure may be related with anti-oxidation and may not be related with lipid-lowering efficacies.

Key words: Probucol, Ischemic cardiomyopathy, Heart failure, Cardiac function