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Sluggish thyroid may not need drugs

A "mildly underactive" thyroid left untreated won't increase heart risk, says a new study.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that not treating a mildly underactive thyroid gland -- a condition known as subclinical hypothyroidism -- does not appear to lead to increased risk of heart attack or death.

The data could signal the need for changes in how the condition is treated, the researchers said, noting that the benefits of treating hypothyroidism is an issue under debate.

In the study, they looked at a pool of 3,200 men and women aged 65 and older, and found that 1.5 percent of the group who had a mildly overactive thyroid had no cardiac risks such as heart attack or death, although these patients did have a higher risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm.

The results will be published in the March 1st issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Previous studies have suggested that abnormal levels of thyroid stimulating hormone may represent a cardiac risk factor, the way that increased cholesterol or smoking are risk factors for heart disease." said lead author Anne Cappola, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at U. of Penn. "We set out to answer the question of whether there are cardiovascular consequences resulting from mild thyroid problems," she said.

Patients with either underactive or overactive thyroid are currently treated with medication to raise or lower the level of the thyroid hormone.

http://www.upi.com

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