title: Early abnormalities of left ventricular myocardial characteristics associated with subclinical hyperthyroidism.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to analyze heart function in subclinical hyperthyroidism (sHT) in otherwise healthy subjects by new methods using intramyocardial ultrasonic techniques. Twenty-four newly diagnosed and untreated sHT patients (20 women, 4 men; mean age: 42+/-4 yr) and 24 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers were studied. All subjects were submitted to conventional 2D color-Doppler echocardiography, pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging (PWTDI) for the analysis of diastolic function, color Doppler myocardial imaging (CDMI) for the analysis of regional strain and strain rate (SR) expression of regional myocardial deformability, and to integrated backscatter (IBS) for the evaluation of intrinsic contractility and tissue characterization. Regional myocardial systolic strain findings were significantly higher in sHT patients when compared with controls (p<0.001). Considering diastolic SR, the early phase of diastolic SR was compromised in sHT subjects as compared with controls (p<0.001). Cyclic variation index (CVI), expression of intrinsic contractility, was significantly higher in sHT subjects in comparison with controls (p<0.0001). IBS values were comparable between the 2 study groups. In conclusion, the present study suggests that in patients with sHT early systolic hyperdeformability and hypercontractility are present, together with impairment of both active and passive phases of diastole. On the contrary, no left ventricular hypertrophy or other structural alterations are documented.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Thoracic and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy. vdibello@med.unipi.it
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Bello
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aghini-Lombardi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monzani
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Talini
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Antonangeli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Palagi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Cori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Caraccio
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Delle Donne
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dardano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinchera
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mariani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D018619:Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006980:Hyperthyroidism / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012107:Research Design; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left