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Hypothyroidism in coronary heart disease and its relation to selected risk factors

Otto Mayer1, Jaroslav Simon, Jan Filipovský

  • 1Center of Preventive Cardiology, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Charles University, Medical Faculty, Plzen, Czech Republic. mayerjr@lfp.cuni.cz

Vascular Health and Risk Management
|February 28, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Hypothyroidism (HT) is common in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), especially in women. This condition is linked to increased cardiovascular risk factors like high cholesterol and homocysteine.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology
  • Thyroid Research

Background:

  • Hypothyroidism (HT) is a known predictor of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
  • Understanding HT prevalence in patients with manifest coronary heart disease (CHD) is crucial.
  • Identifying associations between HT and conventional CVD risk factors is important.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with established coronary heart disease.
  • To investigate the relationship between hypothyroidism and various cardiovascular risk factors in this population.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study included 410 patients 6-24 months post-hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome and/or revascularization.
  • Thyroid function was assessed, including thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels.
  • Associations with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, thyroid peroxidase antibodies, homocysteine, von Willebrand factor, and diabetes treatment were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of overt hypothyroidism was 2.6% in males and 8.4% in females; subclinical hypothyroidism was found in 4.3% of males and 15.0% of females.
  • Higher HT prevalence was observed in females with hypercholesterolemia and in both genders with positive thyroid peroxidase antibodies.
  • Hypothyroid individuals exhibited elevated total homocysteine (both genders), von Willebrand factor (males), total and LDL cholesterol (females), and were more frequently treated for diabetes (females).

Conclusions:

  • Hypothyroidism is highly prevalent in patients with clinical coronary heart disease, particularly in females.
  • Hypothyroidism in CHD patients is associated with several significant cardiovascular risk factors, underscoring the need for screening and management.
Abstract

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