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An echocardiographic study of cardiac changes in hypothyroidism and the response to treatment

B Rawat1, A Satyal

  • 1NORVIC-ESCORTS International Hospital, Kathmandu.

Kathmandu University Medical Journal (KUMJ)
|January 10, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Hypothyroidism can cause increased heart wall thickness and pericardial effusion, which often resolves with thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Echocardiography helps assess these cardiac changes and treatment response.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Thyroid hormones significantly impact cardiac function in nearly all body tissues.
  • Limited research exists on cardiovascular parameters in hypothyroid patients within the country.
  • The impact of hypothyroidism treatment on cardiac parameters requires further definition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate cardiac alterations in hypothyroidism using echocardiography.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of treatment on these cardiac changes.

Main Methods:

  • Echocardiography was performed on 20 overt hypothyroid patients and 10 age/sex-matched controls.
  • Patients were categorized into untreated, treated (L-thyroxine >= 4 months), and post-treatment groups.
  • Radioimmunoassay (RIA) for T3/T4 and Immuno-radiometric assay (IRMA) for TSH were conducted.

Main Results:

  • Hypothyroid patients exhibited increased interventricular septum (IVS) and left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW) thickness, particularly older individuals.
  • A strong correlation was observed between disease severity and pericardial effusion (PE).
  • Thyroid hormone replacement therapy led to decreased wall thickness, reduced/resolved pericardial effusion, and improved cardiac output, primarily by increasing heart rate.

Conclusions:

  • Unexplained pericardial effusion warrants screening for hypothyroidism.
  • Echocardiography is a valuable tool for monitoring treatment response in hypothyroid patients.
  • Thyroid hormone replacement therapy effectively reverses cardiac structural changes and pericardial effusion associated with hypothyroidism.
Abstract

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