Decrease of arterial stiffness at common carotid artery in hypothyroid patients by normalization of thyroid function

Impaired aortic distensibility in hypothyroid patients with negative coronary angiograms: Simultaneous evaluation with 128-slice multiple row detector computed tomography

“…[2][3][4][5][6] Monitoring of aortic distensibility has been shown to be relevant for evaluating coronary artery disease progression and treatment choices. [7][8][9] Previous investigations regarding hypothyroidism and atherosclerosis have yielded contradictory results. Some studies have shown increased risk of atherosclerosis, 3 while others found no effect on atherosclerosis in cases of hypothyroidism compared with patients with normal thyroid function.…”

“…19 Studies using echocardiography have suggested that patients with hypothyroidism have decreased central arterial distensibility. 20,21 In addition, hypothyroidism has been associated with preclinical atherosclerosis, characterized by increased stiffness of the common carotid artery, 3,8 and aortic distensibility in patients with hypothyroidism has been shown to be improved by thyroid hormone replacement treatment. 22 Altered arterial elasticity might be explained by altered lipid metabolism including serum cholesterol and LDL elevation in hypothyroid patients compared with euthyroid subjects.…”

“…7 Increased carotid arterial stiffness has been reported in hypothyroid patients. 3,8 However, there is little information regarding aortic distensibility measured using MDCT and its clinical significance in hypothyroidism. Aortic distensibility can be objectively measured using MDCT or magnetic resonance imaging at any point along the thoracic aorta, and changes in distensibility in both the ascending and descending aorta have been shown in patients with atherosclerosis.…”

Thyroid Dysfunction and Arterial Stiffness. Does the Restoration of Thyroid Function Tests Offer any Benefit?

“…In the first study (which included 45 patients with a mean TSH of 6.31 μUI/ml) restoration of euthyroidism after 6 months resulted in a significant improvement in lipid profile and a reduction of mean c-IMT by 11%. Although the beneficial effects of L-thyroxine replacement on c-IMT could be considered mild, this study [50] provided significant data regarding the key mechanisms involved in hypothyroidism-induced vascular alterations, implicating the improvement in lipid profile as a major determinant of this process. In the other study, the authors [51] also reported similar results regarding c-IMT decrease before and after treatment.…”

“…The high reproducibility of this non-invasive ultrasonography method has been used to explore the efffects of hypothyroidism and Lthyroxine replacement on arterial stiffening. On that basis, 2 independent groups [50,51] studied the effects of overt [50] and SubHypo [51] before and after supplementation therapy, focusing on potential changes in c-IMT [50,51] and AS index [50]. In the first study (which included 45 patients with a mean TSH of 6.31 μUI/ml) restoration of euthyroidism after 6 months resulted in a significant improvement in lipid profile and a reduction of mean c-IMT by 11%.…”