Restoration of thyroid hormone balance: A game changer in the treatment of heart failure?

[PR4NOW]

Medical Science has been dancing around this issue for years. Lorraine at Scottish Thyroid Petition posted this link to a current review of the subject. PR

The abstract at PubMed.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

The abstract at the journal site.

ajpheart.physiology.org/con...

"Abstract

The link between low thyroid hormone (TH) function and heart failure (HF) is reviewed. The idea that TH dysfunction may contribute to diseases leading to HF has been discussed for over 60 years. A growing body of evidence from animal and human studies, particularly in recent years, suggests that TH treatment may improve clinical outcomes. Indeed, if a similar amount of positive information were available for a newly developed heart drug, there is little doubt that large scale clinical trials would be underway with considerable excitement. THs offer the promise of improving ventricular contraction and relaxation, improving coronary blood flow, inhibiting atherosclerosis, and new results suggest they may even reduce the incidence of arrhythmias in heart diseases. Are the potential clinical benefits worth the risk of possible overdosing? After so many years, why has this question not been answered? Clearly, the concept has not been disproven. This review will explore the body of clinical evidence related to TH dysfunction and HF, discuss insight into pathophysiologic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms provided by animal research, and discuss what is needed to resolve this long-standing issue in cardiology and move forward."

Copyright © 2014, American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.

[Clutter]

PR4Now, don't you just lurve their sense of urgency? Happily some cardiologists do understand that T3 thyroid hormone can have a beneficial effect on the heart.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Clutter]

Like Mark Vanderpump's "iodine in teenage girls" paper. Have we seen ANY changes because of that?

Rod

[shaws Administrator]

Dr Lowe (as you probably know) said that if we are underdosed with thyroid hormones the possibility of getting cancer, heart disease and diabetes is high. Considering the blood tests were introduced about 60 years ago, is it a coincidence they are now querying the 'thyroid' connection. How many people diagnosed with hypothyroidism develop heart disease after being on levothyroxine for some years? Levothyroxine stimulated my heart (severe palpitations and investigations) (not overdosed) yet T3 calmed it.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

There has been a bit of a crop of heart-and-thyroid related papers recently - for example these three in the past three days:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

It sometimes looks like we will end up able to be prescribed T3 for our hearts by the heart specialists and for our minds by the psychiatrists, but not by endocrinologists!

All very interesting.

From my earliest days of reading thyroid things, I have never come across a decent list of what thyroid hormones actually do in our bodies. Sure we see that they affect metabolic rate and gene transcription, but I want a far more comprehensive list of exactly what they do. To me, that seems to be a key question and the answer might open up a far better approach to dosing.

Rod