title: The advantage of the use of echocardiographic evaluation in hypothyroid patients.
abstract: Authors examined 10 patients with untreated myxoedema. The disease lasted at least one year in seven cases. The etiology of disease was autoaggressive thyroiditis in 9 cases and was diagnosed by a high titre of antibodies against thyroglobulin. The levels of T4 and T3 were low in all cases, level of TSH was elevated. The mean level of T4 was 0.91 microgram/dl, of T3 43.5 ng/dl. The level of TSH was over 96 microU/ml in 7 cases, in rest over 54 microU/ml. In all cases ECHO examination was done: pericardial effusion was proved in 80%. 5 patients were followed during substitutional therapy. Clinical signs and laboratory test normalised in all 5 cases. ECHO finding improved: left ventricular SEF from 54.4 +/- 7.4% to 67.9 +/- 10.3%, Vcf 0.82 +/- 16 circ/sec to 1.32 +/- 0.37 circ/sec max PWVs from 43.8 +/- 6.8 mm/sec to 63.2 +/- 9.9 mm/sec. The etiology of myxoedema may play a role in the incidence of pericardial effusion either by influence of autoaggressive disease or, which seems more probable, by a complete failure of thyroid gland secretion with low not only T4 but T3, too. T3 receptors are supposed to play an important role in the myxoedema heart disease.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009230:Myxedema / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine