[Twenty-four-hour profile of arterial pressure in patients with hypothyroidism]

The purpose of the investigation was to study the effects of hypothyroidism on the 24-hour profile of arterial pressure (AP). One hundred and fifty-one patients (mean age 52 +/- 3.2 years) with primary hypothyroidism and concomitant arterial hypertension were examined; the patients received substitutive therapy (levothyroxine sodium) and standard hypotensive therapy (ACE inhibitors and indapamide). Twenty-four-hour AP monitoring was performed; the level of thyrotropic hormone was measured by immune enzyme assay. The patients were distributed into two groups according their thyroid status. Group 1 consisted of 72 patients with compensated hypothyroidism; 79 patients with decompensated hypothyroidism constituted group 2. The study found the following facts about patients with decompensated hypothyroidism: higher systolic AP, high variability of nocturnal AP, insufficient decrease in AP during day hours, and accelerated morning AP increase. The results suggest that hypothyroidism has significant effects on the 24-hour AP profile, and its decompensation lowers the efficacy of hypotensive therapy.