Effect of Low Thyroid Function on Cardiac Structure and Function in Spontaneously Hypertensive Heart Failure Rats

As expected, PTU treatment of SHHF rats led to systolic dysfunction and chamber dilation. However, PTU treatment did not lead to arteriolar loss as previously observed in normotensive rats treated with PTU. These finding suggest that induced hypothyroidism leads to detrimental changes in SHHF rats, but the overall effects were no worse than those previously observed in normotensive rats treated with PTU.