[Thyroid function and heart failure: from the new clinical evidences to the potential therapeutical implications]

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology and Cardiovascular Medicine
• Investigates the role of thyroid hormones in cardiovascular homeostasis.

Context:

• Heart failure (HF) is frequently associated with altered thyroid function.
• Low-T3 syndrome, characterized by reduced triiodothyronine (T3) levels, affects a third of HF patients.
• This syndrome was previously considered adaptive but is now questioned.

Purpose:

• To explore the role of low-T3 syndrome in the progression of heart failure.
• To evaluate the prognostic significance of T3 levels in HF patients.
• To assess the potential therapeutic effects of thyroid hormone treatment in HF.

Summary:

• Thyroid hormone (TU) plays a critical role in cardiovascular homeostasis.
• Low-T3 syndrome in heart failure (HF) involves decreased total and free T3 with normal thyroxine and thyrotropin.
• Experimental data suggest this syndrome may contribute to cardiac dysfunction and remodeling in HF.
• T3 levels are a strong predictor of mortality in HF patients.

Impact:

• Challenges the view of low-T3 syndrome as purely adaptive in HF.
• Highlights T3 levels as a significant prognostic marker in heart failure.
• Supports the need for large-scale clinical trials on thyroid hormone therapy in HF.