Plasma semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) is an independent prognostic marker for mortality in chronic heart failure

Experimental evidence has suggested that semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase is involved in vascular endothelial damage and in the process of atherosclerosis, through the formation of reactive aldehydes, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia from endogenous substrates. Recent evidence indicates that semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase may be identical with the vascular adhesion protein-1. In patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic heart failure the plasma activity is raised relative to the severity of the disease. The prognostic value of plasma semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase is not known.