The thyroid in ischemic heart disease: An autopsy study

Thyroid dysfunctions, particularly hypothyroidism, predispose to cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. However, thyroid functions are not always assessed in such patients. In this report, we studied the cases with pathologically evident ischemic heart disease (IHD) at autopsy and correlated with the absence or presence of thyroid disease. In a 5-year retrospective autopsy-based study, cases with IHD in whom the thyroid gland was dissected at autopsy were analyzed. The thyroid gland was available for assessment in 181 of the 255 autopsied cases with IHD. The majority were males with a mean age of 59.9 years. Thyroid pathology was noted in 58 patients (32.0%) in the form of uninodular or multinodular goiter (56.9%), lymphocytic thyroiditis (37.9%), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (5.2%). Based on our experience, we feel it may be worthwhile to assess the thyroid by simple inspection and palpation followed by ultrasonographic imaging and estimations of hormones, thyroid-stimulating hormone and antithyroidal antibodies, in all patients presenting with IHD.