Incidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in hypothyroidism

In 13 consecutive severely hypothyroid patients no sign of endocrine cardiomyopathy in the form of asymmetric septal hypertrophy (ASH) could be disclosed by M-mode and two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography on examination prior to thyroxine replacement therapy. In previous investigations ASH was demonstrated to be almost invariably present in untreated hypothyroidism irrespective of thyrotropin levels. Consequently application of positive inotropic and afterload reducing agents that may invoke deleterious effects in ASH has been considered hazardous in hypothyroidism even when indicated by concurrent other heart disease. Determination of exact confidence limits reveals that the proportional incidence of hypothyroid hypertrophic cardiomyopathy could not exceed 24.7% with 95% probability. We conclude that ASH is not necessarily inherent in hypothyroidism.