Cardiac function at rest in hypothyroidism evaluated by equilibrium radionuclide angiography

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have suggested that hypothyroidism affects both systolic and diastolic cardiac function. We have applied equilibrium radionuclide angiography to the study of heart function at rest in hypothyroidism. DESIGN A prospective study, evaluating cardiac function at rest in primary hypothyroidism. METHODS Cardiac function was studied by means of equilibrium radionuclide angiography. Screening echo-Doppler examinations were performed on each patient. PATIENTS Twenty-six consecutive untreated hypothyroid patients without clinical or echocardiographic cardiac disease and 20 healthy matched controls. RESULTS Between patients and controls, the time to peak emptying rate (161 ± 6 msec vs. 144 ± 6 msec, P