Assessing Diastolic Hypertension in Patients of Primary Hypothyroidism among Adults Visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

Background: Elevation of diastolic BP has been shown in few studies among patients with hypothyroidism. However, the evidence is still obsolete when it comes to Indian settings. This study intends to evaluate association between hypertension and primary hypothyroidism in North Indian population. Methodology: One hundred primary hypothyroid patients (TSH level >5.5) were subjected to a cross-sectional comparative study in a tertiary care hospital in North India from August 2015 to June 2017. Patients had no thyroid complications and were unknown of their blood pressure status. Sociodemographic profile and clinical and laboratory status was evaluated which included blood pressure measurements; lipid profile, kidney function tests, and other vitals were recorded. Results: Individuals with diastolic and overall hypertension had significantly less serum T3 values and high TSH and serum creatinine values as compared to non-hypertensive individuals. Pearson test showed a significant correlation between serum TSH levels with both systolic and diastolic BP. Conclusion: This study showed that both systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased linearly with increasing TSH. Despite the differing estimated prevalence of hypertension in hypothyroidism, there seems to be a positive association of thyroid with BP.