Scientists have long known that thyroid problems occasioned by an imbalance of its hormones may be associated with subsequent heart problems, ranging from an irregular heartbeat to cardiovascular disease. Going by the findings of a new study published in the journal ‘Circulation’ on Tuesday, sudden cardiac death is now among list of potential heart ailments that could arise from thyroid problems.
A thyroid disease is a medical condition impairing the function of the thyroid. Different thyroid diseases include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. These diseases have a large range of symptoms and affect all ages.
The hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine, help control many activities in the body, from how quickly you burn calories to how fast your heart beats.
However, when the gland is underactive (a condition called hypothyroidism, associated with too little thyroxine) or overactive (a condition called hyperthyroidism, associated with too much thyroxine), it can wreak havoc on the body.
Reacting to the study, a research fellow in Endocrinology and Epidemiology at Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and lead author of the study, Dr. Layal Chaker said: “Our study suggests that persons with higher thyroid hormone levels, even within what we consider the normal range of thyroid function, have a four-fold increased risk of sudden cardiac death compared to persons with lower thyroid hormone levels.
“The risk factors that were known for sudden cardiac death were mainly the ‘traditional’ cardiovascular risk factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure.” However, it was not known that higher thyroid hormone levels could also be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death,” she added.
