Thyroid Dysfunction and Arterial Stiffness. Does the Restoration of Thyroid Function Tests Offer any Benefit?

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, either as overt or subclinical states, are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Except for the increased prevalence of lipid disorders, coagulation abnormalities, endothelial dysfunction, cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular hypertrophy and hypertension have been proposed as the most plausible pathways for this association, increased arterial stiffness (AS) may also play a role. Increased AS has emerged recently as an early indicator of CVD in various studies. On the other hand, thyroid dysfunction, mainly hypothyroidism (overt and subclinical) seems to be associated with increased AS, although data are heterogeneous, emerging from different populations, with various methodologies of AS assessment and with variable periods of observation. Restoration of thyroid function with L-thyroxin replacement seems to reverse AS parameters, whereas data on the effect of normalization of thyroid function in hyperthyroidism on AS are inconsistent. The present review provides insights on the association between AS and thyroid dysfunction and discusses the available data about potential benefits of the restoration of thyroid function on AS.