Hyperthyroidism: a "curable" cause of congestive heart failure--three case reports and a review of the literature.

With the increasing incidence of coronary artery disease and the aging population, the prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) is increasing. In the majority of these cases the etiology is underlying coronary artery disease. Other less common causes of CHF include valvular heart disease, hypertension, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, and dilated cardiomyopathy. In addition, there are rare causes, one of which is hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism can affect the cardiovascular system in a variety of ways. The cardiovascular manifestations range from sinus tachycardia to atrial fibrillation and from a high cardiac output state to CHF due to systolic left ventricular dysfunction. If the underlying hyperthyroidism is recognized and treated early the CHF in such cases can be cured. The authors present three cases of CHF due to systolic left ventricular dysfunction secondary to hyperthyroidism, which showed considerable improvement in the left ventricular function once the hyperthyroidism was treated. Copyright 2003 CHF, Inc.