The cardiovascular risk in patients with hypothyroidism is related to an increased risk of functional cardiovascular abnormalities and atherosclerosis. AIMS--The purpose of the present study was to examine a possible association between subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The retrospective study, which covered a 12 months period, had the purpose to establish the prevalence of various risk factors for CVD, within subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism.
Material and methods: We have studied 64 subjects with subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism admitted to the Rehabilitation Hospital, in the Cardiovascular Clinic. They were divided by sex, age, living environment (urban, rural), value of cholesterol, heart rate, BMI, blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS--The study revealed an increased risk of cardiovascular abnormalities and an increased risk of atherosclerosis: 65,61% subjects were obese, 90,6% with high blood pressure, 62,5% had dyslipidaemia. Subclinical thyroid dysfunction is common in older people. The identification of subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism earlier, pursuit of markers for subclinical atherosclerosis and deployment of lifestyle changes, are elements that can also be the key in improving clinical and paraclinical parameters.