Hypothyroidism and myocardial damage in cardiac donors

Background and objectives, Brain death may induce myocardial contractile dy sfunction and hypothyroidism. This myocardial dysfunction is a limiting fac tor when considering donor heart for transplantation. Myocardial damage has shown to be the mechanism in which contractile dysfunction is established in donors. On the other hand, hypothyroidism has been evoked as a major cau se of cardiovascular disorders in brain dead subjets. It is not known wheth er any relationship exists between hypothyroidism and myocardial damage tha t appear in brain death. In this study myocardial damage and thyroid status are quantified in a donor population, and whether a correlation between hy pothyroidism and myocardial damage exists is analyzed. Patients and method. Serum samples from 45 cardiac donors were examined for cardiac troponins T and I as myocardial damage markers, as well as thyroid hormones. Correlations between cardiac troponins and thyroid hormones were assessed. Results, One or both cardiac troponins were elevated in 19 donors (42.2%). Hypothyroidism was a very frequent finding, since it was present in 39 dono rs (86.7%). No correlation was observed between any of the myocardial damag e markers and thriiodothyronine levels. Conclusions. Hypothyroidism and myocardial damage are common in brain dead donors. No association exists between both disorders.