New recommendations for a thyroid and cardiovascular disease research agenda

New Recommendations for a Thyroid and Cardiovascular Disease Research Agenda have been co-published in Thyroid and Circulation. The Guidelines are published online here in Thyroid. The Guidelines are also copyrighted by the American Heart Association and are being simultaneously published in its journal Circulation.

"Thyroid and Cardiovascular Disease: Research Agenda for Enhancing Knowledge, Prevention, and Treatment," presents the results of an international working group convened by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) responsible for developing research priorities relating thyroid dysfunction to the progression of cardiovascular disease. Led by Anne Cappola, MD, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), coauthors included researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, MA), Erasmus Medical Center (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Bethesda, MD), New York University School of Medicine (New York), University of Arizona (Tucson), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD), University of Washington (Seattle), and Weill Cornell Medicine (New York, NY).

The expert scientists and clinicians discussed how thyroid function and thyroid therapy impact various aspects of cardiovascular disease, including arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, and heart failure. These discussions led to recommendations in three broad areas, including identification of novel biomarkers of thyroid action in cardiovascular tissues, defining subgroups of patients suitable for preventive and therapeutic approaches, and clinical trials involving thyroid medications that can improve cardiovascular performance and outcomes.

"The connection between thyroid and cardiac function has been intriguing physicians for more than a century. This multidisciplinary international working group convened by the NHLBI has identified key areas where further research may provide fundamental new insights into this connection, and these recommendations will be stimulating for numerous investigators interested in this field," says Peter A. Kopp, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Thyroid, Professor and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL).