In a new study, researchers found that thyroid function can affect stress-related heart problems.
The research was conducted by a team at Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum.
‘Broken heart syndrome’ has only been known as a health condition for about 30 years.
It is characterized by an acute, serious functional disorder of the heart muscle, usually triggered by extreme emotional and psychological stress.
If detected at an early stage and treated correctly, the outcome is generally positive for most patients.
However, the acute phase of the disease can lead to complicated and even life-threatening problems.
Researchers have long suspected that there is a close link between the ‘broken heart syndrome’ and diseases of the thyroid gland.
In the study, the team tested patients with the ‘broken heart syndrome’ for their thyroid function and compared them with healthy people and patients who have had a heart attack.
Using artificial intelligence and systems biology models, they found a strong link between thyroid function and the heart problem in two ways.
One form is an overactive thyroid gland that increases the risk of a heart disease.
The second form, the so-called stress type, is caused by an elevated target value of thyroid regulation, which is probably directly related to the stress event.
Here, no direct effect of the thyroid hormones on the heart can be proven.
The results provide a new explanatory model that traces increased sensitivity of the heart muscle to stress hormones back to sensitization by thyroid hormones.
They highlight the importance of psycho-endocrine connections even in severe diseases.
The team says in the future, thyroid function could serve as a biomarker for the individual mechanism of the ‘broken heart syndrome’ and help optimize personalized drug therapy.
One author of the study is Dr. Assem Aweimer.
The study is published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Copyright © 2020 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
