Higher serum free thyroxine levels are associated with coronary artery disease.
Thyroid hormone has many effects on the heart and cardiovascular system. Thyrotoxicosis is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, primarily due to heart failure and thromboembolism. However, the relationship between thyroid hormone excess and the cardiac complications of angina pectoris and myocardial infarction remains largely speculative. Moreover, few studies have been reported on the effect of thyroid hormone levels within normal range on coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore we examined the association of thyroid function with coronary artery diseases in euthyroid angina patients. Total 192 subjects (mean age; 60.8 yrs) were enrolled in which coronary angiograms were performed due to chest pain. We measured free thyroxine (FT(4)), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), serum lipid levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels and analyzed their association with the presence of CAD. Serum FT(4) levels were higher in patients with CAD compared with the patients without CAD (1.31 +/- 0.30 vs 1.20 +/- 0.23, p = 0.006), and high FT(4) level was associated with the presence of multi-vessel disease. Multivariate analysis showed that age (odds ratio (OR) 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.07, p = 0.007), hypertension (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.06-3.90, p = 0.036) and FT(4) (OR 4.23; 95% CI 1.12-15.99, p = 0.033), were the determinants for CAD. The relative risk (RR) for CAD in highest tertile of FT(4) showed increased risk compared with the lowest tertile (RR 1.98; 95% CI 0.98-3.99, p<0.001). Our study showed that FT(4) levels were associated with the presence and the severity of CAD. Also, this study suggests that elevated serum FT(4) levels even within normal range could be a risk factor for CAD. Further studies will be necessary to confirm the relationship of thyroid function and CAD.
Jung
Chan-Hee
CH
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Rhee
Eun-Jung
EJ
Shin
Hun-Sub
HS
Jo
Sook-Kyoung
SK
Won
Jong-Chul
JC
Park
Cheol-Young
CY
Kim
Byung-Jin
BJ
Sung
Ki-Chul
KC
Kim
Bum-Soo
BS
Lee
Won-Young
WY
Oh
Ki-Won
KW
Kang
Jin-Ho
JH
Park
Sung-Woo
SW
Lee
Man-Ho
MH
Kim
Sun-Woo
SW
D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood*
D013974:Thyroxine