Abstract Oxidative stress is one of the most important mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases, especially in heart failure. Mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation play a major role in formation of free radicals and antioxidants. The association between oxidative stress, telomere biology and cell senescence plays the key role in cardiovascular pathology development. The paper considers role of pro-oxidant and antioxidant enzymes in heart pathology development. Specifically, the role of such antioxidant enzymes as glutathione peroxidase 3, catalase, and superoxide dismutase is described. The role of gamma-glutamyl transferase is emphasized as its activity increases significantly in cases of heart failure, coronary heart disease, stroke, arterial hypertensions, and arrhythmias. This article is a literature review of the effect of such antioxidants as alpha-tocopherol, ubiquinone, uric acid, and triiodothyronine on development of heart failure and myocardial infarction. A decrease in triiodothyronine concentration is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. High uric acid values in patients with myocardial infarction upon admission to the hospital are associated with a high risk of sudden death. The influence of such minerals such as zinc, copper, magnesium, selenium, potassium, sodium, calcium, and iron on heart failure development has been analyzed. The role of ceruloplasmin as an independent predictor of acute and chronic cardiac disorders cardiac events, mortality, and bad prognosis in patients with heart failure and myocardial infarction is examined. The authors demonstrate the influence of inflammation on heart failure development as well as association of inflammation with oxidative stress.