Hi,
Any advice please. I have typical symptoms of being hypo, partial thyroidectomy 3 years ago, remaining side now enlarged (goitre confirmed), currently on 100 levo.
I have now just been advised I have an enlarged heart, I know this can be caused by thyroid decease, but how likely is this to be the case.
Thank you in advance
I am not medically qualified but have never read/heard that hypothyroidism causes an enlarged heart. If you've had undiagnosed hypo for a while, your heart may have been struggling.
I would urge you to get a Full Thyroid Blood Test. If you're in the UK this is rarely done but we can get them privately and I'll give a link - just in case.
All blood tests for thyroid hormones have to be at the earliest and fasting (you can drink water) and if you were taking thyroid hormones you'd allow a 24 hour gap between dose and test and take afterwards. This helps keep the TSH at its highest as that seems to be all the doctors take notice of, when it should be the Free T4 and Free T3.
Request TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies. Get a print-out of the results with the ranges and post for comments.
T4 is an inactive hormone and has to convert to T3. T3 is the only Active Thyroid Hormone required in our millions of T3 receptor cells and the brain and heart contain the most.
health.harvard.edu/heart-he...
If you decide to get private tests, make sure you are well-hydrated a couple of days before blood draw. You'd be surprised to know that few doctors seem to know anything about symptoms caused through hypothyroidism. They seem to only look at the TSH and if its 'in range' they think there's no problem. Our body needs thyroid hormones at an optimum level for everything to function optimally.
Thank you for your reply, I have had the full range and have posted them recently.
I am a nurse and have researched a little. bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/pu.... See the link from BHF, it is added as a cause of enlarged heart, also health.harvard and mayoclinic have mentioned a link. I think is more thyroid decease rather than hypo or hyper. But then I am new to this so any help is appreciated
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Here is the link to your results of two months ago.
Hey Shaws I don’t mean to hijack this post. It’s just what you say about the heart struggling if undiagnosed for a while.
I was likely undiagnosed for many years, once finally diagnosed I was also found to have bradycardia (heart rate sometimes as low as 35). Do you think this could be related to being hypo for years without diagnosis? Should medication help reverse it? (I’m on t4/t3 but heart still stays rather slow, however a bit better than before)
I had bradycardia for two years, resting heart rate was 43. Doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with my heart apart from the fact that I had an extremely low heart rate. After being diagnosed hypothyroid in January and taking medication my heart rate has returned to normal 76bpm. The difference the medication made was astounding and my heart rate increased back into the normal range within days. 💐
I’m in the same boat. Slow heart but no physical reason for it. Levo and t4 have helped somewhat, at its peak it brings my heart up to 60ish but once the t3 wears off it slows down again, I also cycle almost daily and the docs say that could be a reason why my heart is slow, they paint me as an “athlete” but I’m not, I just cycle for transport so I don’t think it should have that big of an effect.
I’ve so got that t shirt.
If one more Doctor blamed my low heart rate on how fit I was I would have screamed! I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without needing to sit down, the sweat would be pouring off me and I was totally out of breath! I was suicidal! I couldn’t get anyone to believe there was something wrong with me.
Maybe you need to increase your medication? I certainly dosed on HR and temperature. If my heart rate and temperature dropped again I increased my medication “against doctors recommendation”. If I’d listened to them I’d still be really poorly.
Hope you find the solution soon
Kindest regards 💐💐
Thanks! I don’t think I can get meds increase at the moment as they’re actually working really well, my FT3 is at the very top of the range and tsh almost suppressesd, so I’m at the limit with docs I think. But I’ll keep on trucking anyway 
Thanks for your responses 😊 all the best!
Yes, since thyroid hormone T3 is the regulator of the heart -- if there's not enough available to do its job regulating the heart, the heart (as all other bodily functions eventually) will slow down.
It sickens me how doctors don't immediately and thoroughly check for thyroid dysfunction. Instead they do every other test first and still say your thyroid is fine. It's scandalous beyond compare.
A body with Low T3 will suffer.
So yes. Optimal thyroid hormone T3 in the cells of the body will correct the problem of irregular heart beats (A-Fib), tachycardia, and sluggish beats, by regulating it as was meant to be done. For doctors to not understand that the thyroid is vital to good health, is a horror unto itself.
All systemic illness has been connected to have some root within thyroid dysfunction (and that is due, usually to issues of digestion [the slowing of adequate stomach acid and thus mal-absorption of nutrients]. When the gut isn't happy, the body cannot function properly. That includes thyroid function --the regulator of the body.
Conventional medicine never addresses that the underlying issue for thyroid dysfunction is most often due to those causes. They instead look everywhere else and placate symptoms, never getting to the root cause and curing the dysfunction.
The more we know... the more we can help ourselves get back to good health.
Hope this is helpful to you!
Healing Hugs!
You’re absolutely right. But I think the doctors not checking for thyroid dysfunction first may be a problem only in some countries (probably most) with some health care systems. I would have agreed with this when I lived in Canada, it was impossible for me to get any appropriate testing there. However once I moved to Germany it was the complete opposite.
They found my thyroid problems on my very first visit to a doctor, I had a bit of a cold (what I went in for) and they just did a thyroid test as a precautionary measure along with the other tests. Seems like in this country thyroid tests are quite common and tend to be carried out regularly on patients to make sure it isn’t the cause of their issues.
My endo also knowingly gave me t3 to help my heart also, and he also checks my gastro results. In fact he spends more time making sure my heart, gut, and stress levels are in order since he is adamant they are all connected.
It gives me faith that the health system over all is improving and other places just need time to catch up.
Thanks for the info! It is definitely useful
That's great. There are younger endocrinologists who don't subscribe the the "Old School" way of thinking. They know better and haven't yet been corrupted by Big Pharma's perks for writing prescriptions.
Doctors of functional medicine are taught to heal by getting down to the root of systemic illness. They are also trained in how the body functions. Conventional medicine only serves to placate symptoms. For functional medical professionals there is a great familiarity with T3 and it's vital need for those who have been low in T3 for some time.
Hypothyroidism is not difficult to recognize if one understands the symptoms and doesn't wait to react only when test numbers are overt. Subclinical hypothyroidism is rampant.
Functional medicine knows that the test numbers are secondary to a patient's symptoms -- instead of being first to reference. When the symptoms of hypothyroidism are treated, whether it is clinical or subclinical, the patient can recover. Otherwise, their condition worsens as they go undiagnosed.
I'm so happy for you! Can we clone your doctor and ship him around to those in need? That is what is needed! I wonder if most of those doctors are aware of how difficult it is for patients elsewhere?
Thanks for your reply.
Healing Hugs!!
Hi LVH, left ventricle hypotrophy is an enlarged left ventricle where basically because the heart has had to work harder it becomes enlarged which can in some cases be due to thyroid. An enlarged heart is a different condition. Often LVH is described as an enlarged heart so personally I would be inclined to question which condition it is.
I had a "moderately enlarged left ventrical, mildly enlarged right ventical, multiple areas of heart muscle hypokinesia. I was also clearly hypothyroid but this was denied by NHS ( my TSH was 3.2 ). I put myself on T3 only and a year later my cardiologist was astonished by the fact that my heart had"re-modelled" itself "spontaneously" and that the areas of hypokinesia had gone. He discharged me and I haven't been back in four years. When he asked me, "What did you do?" Unfortunately I did not want to admit to self medicating.....
You should have told him so he could have been educated what a wonderful hormone replacement T3 actually is.He may also advise his hypo patients to get T3 prescribed from the endocrinologist. I am glad you are doing well
You really should have told him....would love to have seen his face!
My constant palps which often entailed calling an ambulance also ceased when on T3 only.
Me too. For fifty years! Amazing how stupid doctors can be.
I believe that you need to sort out your thyroid and other results as well this could make a difference to your heart.
I self medicate to bring my levels up, you could too. In the UK they often remove only half of the thyroid, in France they always remove the whole first time round.
Very.................my late Mother had an enlarged heart and she really suffered until she went on thyroid treatment at aged 80 (yes that is another story) when she went back to have her heart scanned several months later her heart was down to normal. But see this as a positive because it looks like it can be reversed. By the way she lived until she was 93 !!!
I can't find it now but I did have a link where they were using hormones to help heart patients and as a renal patient as well as thyroid patient I have discovered by the fact they are now saying my 50 year problem with my kidneys has resolved itself that the thyroid was causing my renal manifestations. Why the heck they aren't looking into what the deficient thyroid causes - it must be costing the NHS billions.
Have you had an ultrasound of your heart done? I’ve had a doctor tell me I had an enlarged heart by listening to it. But after being checked by specialists it turned out actually I have bradycardia (slow heart beat) and the doctor just kinda assumed when he heard a slow heart that meant it was enlarged.
I don’t know if my heart condition is in any way related to being hypo (unfortunately).
No ultrasound as yet, but cxr (chest X-ray), and ECG so far. Another pointless appt with GP on Wednesday.
Was the enlarged heart diagnosed after chest X-ray?
I feel for you with the pointless appointments, sorry you have to go through them 😓
I think you should wait until getting ultrasound to accept your “definitive” diagnosis. I was told this that and this by all the different specialists, as I also went though ECG, 24 hour Blood pressure test, Holter Monitor, lots of doctors poking and prodding. In the end they finally sent me to ultrasound to see a specialist, he looked over all the previous results along with his ultrasound. He reassured me my heart wasn’t enlarged as a few other doctors assumed. (Not sure if the x Ray can diagnose it, but the other tests really can’t).
I can’t say that you do or don’t have it, but just don’t get too worried until you actually have definitive answers. Doctors like to guess often, not realizing that they’re freaking out their patients 😅
I wish you all the best with this and try not to stress out too much (if you can) 😊
Thank you, appreciate your wishes.
Yes diagnosis was following cxr, which does detect an enlarged heart with the % of enlargement. I try not to worry as I have been given results/advice by GP’s who have no idea, or to be honest no interest 😏
You’re welcome 😊 I would recommend to look into the possibility of adding T3 to your levo.
I’m not sure if it’s something you’ve tried before, but I’ve read that people who undergo thyroidectomy are quite in need of some T3 since the thyroid isn’t producing any, and you rely solely on conversion from levo.
It seems from reading this forum that some people with enlarged hearts or certain heart conditions have really benefitted from T3 in addition to their levo. I’m sure there’s more info about it.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart) has been associated with low cellular (not necessarily serum - because serum Magnesium is usually pretty constant regardless of how low it can be elsewhere) Magnesium levels. Magnesium is a missing link for us as it isn't easily measured (especially on the NHS) and low magnesium is also linked to the onset and progression of autoimmune disorders according to Carolyn Dean. If you do decide to supplement, firstly check for interactions with all drugs, because it should be taken away from Levo. Also, start on a lowish dose and work up. I take around 450 mg a day at mid-morning, late afternoon and at night. The citrate powder form is a good place to start as you can slowly increase the dose and don't bother taking the oxide form - it's rubbish and gives you the runs. The calm energy I now get from it is really nice - but it takes a while to get there as you don't want any unpleasant detox symptoms.
wellbeingjournal.com/magnes...
reversingautoimmunity.com/m...
lifeextension.com/Magazine/...
Great book "The Magnesium Miracle" by Caroline Dean
Many hypothyroid patients, especially if Hashimoto's, have low magnesium
I found it essential before I could tolerate vitamin D
Gastroenterologist was fascinated by hearing about magnesium
What you say about vitamin d makes perfect sense as vitamin d will raise your calcium levels and you need to have good magnesium to tolerate the extra calcium. I also wonder if people with low Magnesium become lethargic when it's very sunny?
Some quotes from Thyroid Disease and the Heart: ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10....
Although treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism with appropriate doses of L-thyroxine has been controversial, and a position paper found insufficient evidence to recommend treatment, a recent study confirms the cardiovascular benefits of therapy. As previously suggested, the benefits of the restoration of TSH levels to normal can be considered to outweigh the risks.
Most, if not all, of the changes in cardiac structure and function associated with hypothyroidism are responsive to T4 replacement.
(AndiRiley )
It is important to recognize, however, that the restoration of normal cardiovascular hemodynamics can occur without a significant increase in resting heart rate in the treatment of hypothyroidism.
(dang )
Reduced serum T3 is a strong predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and, in fact, is a stronger predictor than age, left ventricular ejection fraction, or dyslipidemia. It has been suggested that physiological T3 therapy might improve cardiac function in this clinical situation.
The heart relies mainly on serum T3 because no significant myocyte intracellular deiodinase activity takes place, and it appears that T3, and not T4, is transported into the myocyte.
Hyperthyroidism in both humans and experimental animals leads to cardiac hypertrophy. This cardiac growth is primarily the result of increased work imposed on the heart through increases in hemodynamic load.
Thank you SmallBlueThing! This is very appreciated 😊
My resting heart rate was as slow as 38 bpm when I was a long distance cyclist. I had a few weeks hyperthyroid before going more hypo and starting treatment, and thought my 40-ish heart rate was due to residual fitness (which I found hard to believe). Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed by ultrasound, due to my hypertension. My resting heart rate ranged between 42 and 54 bpm on T4 only, and is now 56 to 60 bpm with the addition of T3 via Thiroyd.
Thanks for sharing your experience and information. It pretty much mirrors my numbers. Luckily on ultrasound they didn’t find any abnormalities, I did have extra ventricular systole which I actually think has gone away since starting t3 (haven’t been re-examined since before t3) and also my heart rate is around high 50s low 60s, which is definitely better.
Before T3 I used to always get super lightheaded when standing up, or sometimes I’d see stars, if I didn’t sit back down or bend over I’d faint. Now it only happens at night maybe, if I’m tired or haven’t eaten well, but no longer every time I stand up.
I had an enlarged heart when I was diagnosed in 1988. Got sent to a cardiologist who said it was because my heart wasn’t getting enough thyroid hormone and so had to work extra hard. Told me to double my dose as the GP was being far too conservative and that I was a healthy young woman and the heart would be fine once I was optimally medicated for my thyroid. Hope this helps. Jane
Mitral valve prolapse is linked to autoimmune thyroid disease
Enlarged Heart is on hypothyroidmom.com's list of 300+ symptoms. My advice to you would be to get a FT3 test, pronto, and make sure your FT3 is in the upper half of the range. My lab uses the range 2.77 < FT3 < 5.27 pg/ml.
I was told four years ago that my heart was enlarged but it was put down to compensating for the pneumonia I had and my lungs being full of fluid and my stomach/legs. I did have a CT scan and a heart scan to see whether I had a leaky valve, never came back that i had, although recently we have found there is a genetic heart condition in our family which involves the valve in the heart being faulty so in time it needs to be replaced. (My brother has got to have the operation and never been ill in his life)
I do suffer with oedema which started many moons ago around the same time as my thyroid meds were changed dramatically.
I have to take a diuretic once a day, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But when it does, I can lose up to 7lb in fluid only.
At that time I was in hospital, it was confirmed that I had sleep apnoea, which was very bad at the time, it has improved since then. When I found out, they said that I most probably always had it, but it had gone undetected and I do wonder if that is one of the reasons, I have an enlarged heart, or just coincidence?? There are so many that have both sleep apnoea and thyroid conditions. I was really surprised when I asked on a FB group.
I have been told since by my Sleep Consultant, that I was very very poorly and very lucky especially with the type of pneumonia I had, that I actually survived.
It is quite frightening isn't?
Hi here! I'm writing generally, as I've read some of which has been commented on this thread, so it may be that you didn't specifically ask about a portion of this. All in all, though, I'm sure it will all be helpful to you. It's the big picture that counts, and to recognize what it is, there are parts to it that come together.
"Disease" is merely a more sinister word for "dysfunction." Thyroid hormone is what regulates the heart. An enlarged heart is a very COMMON symptom of hypothyroidism that has gone on for years without proper treatment or diagnosis. The heart has to work harder when it doesn't have enough thyroid hormone available to regulate it. Being a muscle, the heart enlarges as any other muscle that has been worked hard. Therefore, an enlarged heart is more likely to be a symptom of an overworked heart due to a thyroid issue, since the thyroid is the regulator of the heart!
Below, from Mayo Clinic, a leading world authority on health and disease (dysfunction) in the body, on causes of an enlarged heart (even though they down play the thyroid angle, as most all conventional medicine does as it keeps people running to them unnecessarily):
"High blood pressure in the artery connecting your heart and lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Your heart may need to pump harder to move blood between your lungs and your heart. As a result, the right side of your heart may enlarge.
Fluid around your heart (pericardial effusion). Accumulation of fluid in the sac (pericardium) that contains your heart may cause your heart to appear enlarged on a chest X-ray.
Low red blood cell count (anemia). Anemia is a condition in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues. Untreated, chronic anemia can lead to a rapid or irregular heartbeat. Your heart must pump more blood to make up for the lack of oxygen in the blood.
Thyroid disorders. Both an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) and an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) can lead to heart problems, including an enlarged heart.
Excessive iron in the body (hemochromatosis). Hemochromatosis is a disorder in which your body doesn't properly metabolize iron, causing it to build up in various organs, including your heart. This can cause an enlarged left ventricle due to weakening of the heart muscle."
mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...
Note: I've honed in on listing those causes of an enlarged heart that are known to relate back to thyroid issues, which in reality are all of them, technically. For example, the lack of iron is known to inhibit thyroid hormone conversion. Sometimes doctors never make the connection as iron serum levels simply being within range are not optimal enough for each and every patient to facilitate thyroid hormone conversion in an optimal fashion. It gets missed and the heart works even harder!
Also, high inflammation can also cause ferritin levels to rise as it is stored and kept away from the body as inflammation is fed by iron (and sugar). This means iron serum levels can be normal or low, but the body is not getting adequate iron to function properly. This means that iron stored and held cannot facilitate optimal thyroid function. This is never the fault of the thyroid. Thus, thyroid "disease" is NOT what most people think it is. The thyroid is not diseased in that being rid of it will solve issues, rather, it is that the thyroid is in a state of overt dysfunction because it is not receiving the nutrients or hormonal balance necessary for it to function properly.
This includes the lack of peripheral conversion of thyroid hormone T4 into the active thyroid hormone T3. It is T3 that ultimately needs to be plentiful in the cells/tissues of the body for all systems to function properly as regulated by the thyroid.
The lack of optimal iron levels can cause a low red blood cell count and even change the shape of the blood cells. Most conventional doctors are clueless in that area. I found out myself by doing my own blood tests and comparing the results to optimal ranges as set out by the protocol of Functional Medicine.
Then I went about researching the most likely causes in the event of established thyroid dysfunction.
With that said, please never take iron unless you have tested for the need, including the testing of ferritin, as those with hypothyroidism often have high ferritin levels due to high levels of inflammation --and yet not getting adequate iron! Taking more iron is not the thing to do in that case, as the inflammation can magnify ferritin levels incredibly. It sounds crazy, but I'm living proof that it happens. To correct the problem, the key is to lower the inflammation that keeps iron building and refusing to mete ferritin out as iron serum. You do this by reducing inflammation via dietary changes to remove all refined foods and especially refined sugars that literally feed inflammations just as they do cancers. Refined sugar really is our worst enemy. This is also why hypothyroidism and pre-diabetes or diabetes go hand-in-hand. Insulin resistance is common in hypothyroidism.
By doing all we can to improve our health, we can help to make better use of the thyroid hormone we take.
As the iron begins to release from ferritin to replenish iron serum, you'll regain strength and vigor as the inflammation is lessened to reasonable levels. This also helps thyroid function and overall well-being, as the body isn't held down by the negatives to health caused by excess inflammation.
I know about this because it is what has happened to me personally. No one could figure out why my blood levels were so low (one doctor said they were normal for years as I got more and more exhausted and ill). They just are not taught how the body works. GPs are taught to prescribe medications or to refer patients to someone else who knows as little as they do -- unfortunately. It's the worst thing in the world for a hypothyroid patient or even a hyperthyroid patient to be yanked around to this doctor and that one and told they have serious heart problems (as I was told). When all that was going on was Grave's Disease, an eradication of my thyroid, and then resulting hypothyroidism that was never appropriately treated. I went eight years on only 50 mcg. of T4 -- and got sicker each and every day. But at that time, I had no way of knowing none of my doctors were competent in their professions.
It amazes me how many conventional doctors have no idea that the thyroid regulates the entire body! The heart is included. When thyroid hormone is not optimal, either too low or too high, then the heart will palpitate, slow down to a crawl, or skip beats that suddenly are like thuds in the chest. Chest pain is also common with thyroid dysfunction. This is why so many women are told to take a barrage of testing only to find out that their heart is "enlarged but normal." In other words, doctors will keep saying they don't know the cause of your heart issues.
I had so many tests for possible heart conditions that I lost count. No one was doing a thing in the way of helping me. I was told I had "Congestive Heart Failure" due to my enlarged heart and so much "water" (aka mucin) around it. Edema was my middle name as I blew up like a blimp. My feet split open with the massive swelling. A few years later I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease. Go figure. But I got Grave's due to decades of undiagnosed Hashimoto's -- of that I am certain. I was rendered hypothyroid again after my thyroid was eradicated. Too dumb back then to know none of that had to happen. But I'm smart by having walked the harsh road of reality. At least I can appreciate that and not dwell on the memory of my former ignorance.
Today, even though I have experienced no less than 12 autoimmune conditions (all were not curable, of course, as we are told) -- all of them are now silenced as finally my levels of thyroid hormone at the cellular level are now ideal. Not one doctor that I ever saw had a clue about any of this. Not even the endocrinologists I saw. Clueless to a fault.
I wholeheartedly believe that all autoimmune disease is thyroid related. It is not that the thyroid is attacked by the autoimmune system, but rather that the autoimmune system is under attack by not having ample thyroid hormone to function properly itself! That is when all sorts of symptoms occur and are given names of other "autoimmune" conditions. This is convenient for Big Pharma to make medicines to treat each and every autoimmune condition as a separate entity rather than being under the umbrella of thyroid dysfunction.
Of course, nutrient deficiencies overlap thyroid dysfunction because nutrient deficiencies often are a major cause thyroid dysfunction. Without ample nutrients to facilitate thyroid function, the thyroid eventually fails.
In the case of heart problems, which should be first looked at as being caused by thyroid dysfunction, doctors panic instead. They look at test results in the thinnest of ways and don't see the forest for the trees. They don't want anyone having heart problems on their watch so they refer you to the hospital right away for thousands of dollars of testing that all turn out completely normal.
It is my opinion that this very practice of referral for all things that should be recognized as thyroid dysfunction and that keep patients coming in and out of doctors offices and hospitals... pay the bills and keep the economies of developed countries afloat.
We are expendable, people. That is the foundation for conventional medicine: treating women for any and everything else BUT for the thyroid imbalances that are causing all her symptoms of ill health and thus ruining her life with antidepressants, beta-blockers, statins, and other medications that she doesn't really need at all. All that is needed is ample thyroid hormone of the right type for the particular patient.
It's why medicines just keep coming out more and more with regard to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, digestive issues, skin ailments, dry skin lotions and therapies, heart arrhythmia and A-Fib, this auto immune disease and that one, dry eyes, swollen hands and feet, blurred vision, overall aches and pains, digestive abnormalities, fibromyalgia, etc. etc. etc. And all those conditions (and so many more) are mostly due to the lack of T3 in the patient's cells caused by a gut that has lost the ability to absorb enough of the very nutrients needed to reverse the dysfunction. So it goes on for too long and the thyroid is overworked to obliteration -- unless T3 is restored in time to be able to reverse any damage done.
Blood tests only tell what is in the blood -- and not what is in the cells or at the tissue level where thyroid hormone can regulate all systems of the body!
The heart is regulated by the thyroid. How can a doctor be considered a doctor without knowing that fact?!
Because they don't know the part that poor digestion and low nutrients play in thyroid dysfunction either!
And they don't know that they perpetuate poor digestion by prescribing medications for acid reflux. Those medications (proton pump inhibitors) remove all acid from the stomach. How can you digest foods and absorb nutrients without any stomach acid to facilitate it? You cannot! Acid reflux is also a common symptom of hypothyroidism.
drbrighten.com/heartburn-hy...
We must remember that for most people, initial thyroid dysfunction comes about due to the lack of nutrients necessary for the thyroid to otherwise function properly. This happens when the body cannot absorb nutrients in a timely fashion. The gut is usually the entry for all that happens systemically in the body as bacterial overgrowth (often caused by too many antibiotics and other unnecessary or overused medications that either directly inhibit thyroid function or that decrease stomach acid needed for optimal nutrient absorption -- or both!) -- which all boils down to causing malabsorption of nutrients and a thyroid starved to the point of dysfunction.
Beta-blockers that are widely prescribed for heart problems that are actually due to thyroid issues, make those thyroid problems worse by inhibiting thyroid function even more! Remember, beta-blockers are what were given to me to reduce thyroid function when I had full-blown Grave's Disease (hyperthyroidism)!
Also, so many symptoms of nutrient deficiency overlap with thyroid dysfunction. Conventional doctors don't recognize this and instead give pharmaceuticals for each and every symptom as it arises, which only masks the very symptoms needed to address the nutritional deficiencies that cause the thyroid dysfunction!
Until it is proven that adequate thyroid hormone isn't getting into the cells (an SHBG test is helpful in that regard), the patient will continue to feel unwell as the doctor continues to write another useless (and harmful) prescription that the patient doesn't need. The doctor is at the end of their depth of knowledge. This is where the patient can actually be helpful in their own care. Sometimes, a doctor need only hear a suggestion and see documentation of another physician to be compelled to try it.
And that would be great! Because by checking for thyroid hormone at the cellular level via an SHBG Test, along with possibly addressing any nutritional deficiencies and other hormonal imbalances that are keeping the body from being its best -- your doctor and you can know exactly what is needed to be done to correct our situation:
"In states of low thyroid function, the SHBG level drops.
In states of high thyroid function, the SHBG level rises.
This allows the SHBG to be used as a marker to assess the thyroid hormone absorption and cellular function.
If you have low SHBG and hypothyroidism, you should test your SHBG level at the beginning of treatment to assess if you are on the right type of thyroid hormone and the right amount.
If you are taking a T4 only thyroid medication and your SHBG level does not increase, you may have a problem with peripheral conversion of T4 into active T3.
You therefore may need to change to a natural dessicated thyroid (NDT) or add T3 to your current regimen.
On the flip side, if after starting your thyroid medication your SHBG level rises > 80 nmol/L, that is an indication that your dose is too high and it should be reduced."
restartmed.com/thyroid-lab-...
This can handle any heart problems that have surfaced due to less-than-optimal treatment of hypothyroidism. An enlarged heart can actually return to normal size.
Most physicians will say an enlarged heart is due to high blood pressure. But actually, high blood pressure (and high cholesterol) are both fairly definite indicators of a sluggish thyroid! By getting the thyroid function under control with adequate thyroid hormone or nutrients -- or all of the above -- the high blood pressure and high cholesterol return to normal. So usually, does the heart.
Addressing nutritional and hormonal deficiencies at the same time as thyroid hormone is being prescribed is ideal for making sure nothing slips through the cracks -- and for knowing exactly what is needed for the particular individual patient.
joshgitalis.com/what-is-fun...
Many conventional doctors don't even know what an SHBG Test is, or that nutrients are vital to thyroid function!
Conventional medicine is lame in such regards, so please do your own homework and compare nutrient levels to OPTIMUM for good health rather than the usual bare minimum levels listed to ward off diseases of specific vitamin deficiency such as rickets and scurvy.
The bottom line is that "disease" is really a term that means "dysfunction" -- an dysfunction is what happens to a body that is either running too fast or -- in the case of hypothyroidism -- too slow to facilitate ideal health. Slow can mean low or high BP, sluggish gallbladder function and formation of cholesterol stones, high cholesterol, weight gain, edema, dry skin and hair, increased aches and pains, all sorts of issues as discussed earlier, etc. We know all the signs! But yet doctors tend to think we're all hiding cookies under our bed when we inform them that we've been dieting and not losing but gaining weight! The doctor doesn't realize that cravings of sugar and salt and carbs in general are in themselves major hypothyroidism symptoms! They also don't realize that a calorie is not just a calorie. They didn't get that memo either!
When the body is out of balance, all bets are off as far as how the body can get back to normal. Because "normal" methods won't work, necessarily. That's because metabolism is controlled by the... thyroid! Hard to have an adequate metabolism and optimal heart-rate when one's body is having to share T3 that's being depleted more and more each day. Conversion is essential, but when given T4 only and too far behind in T3 from the cells, then a person has difficulty ever catching up. So you have to prove to your doctor that your cells aren't getting enough T3. That's where the SHBG test will help you tremendously.
To know where your health is at this time, nutrient levels need to be established to see what levels need improvement to optimize thyroid function. Also, knowing where you stand with regard to your sex hormones can hone right in on what else is missing that may be keeping the T3 you do receive from getting down to where it needs to be: at the cellular/tissue level.
"#6. Failure to Diagnose and Appreciate Nutrients Required for Thyroid Function
It's silly but outside of the Hospital Doctor's don't appreciate the value of nutrients and supplements in treating disease.
Inside the hospital, your Doctor is intimately familiar with something as simple as magnesium: it serves to help stop pre-term labor (13) and it can even bring your heart back into a stable rhythm when given intravenously (14).
Outside of the hospital, however, it's another story entirely!
The truth is your thyroid needs several different nutrients (that are commonly depleted in most people) to function at 100%.
Some of the most common include:
Iron - To check iron status you'll need to obtain ferritin (15), serum iron, and TIBC. Iron deficiency results in decreased thyroid function.
Zinc - This nutrient helps T4 to T3 conversion (16) and acts as an anti-inflammatory agent, and may help improve your immune system. A deficiency in zinc leads to a hypothyroid-like syndrome which is ameliorated with zinc supplementation. The best way to determine if you are zinc deficient is with a trial of zinc supplementation.
Selenium - This nutrient also helps with T4 to T3 conversion, may help decrease autoimmunity (17) and antibody levels in Hashimoto's, and is required for thyroid hormone production.
B Vitamins including B2 and B6 - Activated B vitamins are required for thyroid hormone production and the production of adrenal hormones. Stress and other lifestyle factors can increase the demand of B Vitamins and may lead to a deficiency.
Vitamin D - Low levels are associated with an increased risk (18) of autoimmune disease and may also contribute to fatigue (19).
And many more which you can read about here.
You can see a list of required vitamins and nutrients to produce and convert thyroid hormone below:
"
restartmed.com/thyroid-lab-...
Knowing about optimal nutrient levels and optimal SHBG levels is key to ensuring you are taking the right amount -- and the right type -- of thyroid hormone for your needs. It does make a huge difference:
"If you are a woman, you want your SHBG to be in the 60-80 nmol/L range.
Anything higher is considered 'too much' and anything lower is considered 'insufficient.'
How to Treat Low SHBG (how to increase it when it's low)
#1. Get a complete thyroid lab panel
#2. Assess your estrogen/progesterone ratio (especially if menopausal)
#3. Check free testosterone levels"
When conversion of T4 is problematic due to low nutrient levels and hormonal imbalances that keep whatever T3 is made from that conversion from getting into your cells -- then something has to be done. Of course, healing your gut will help considerably too. Bacterial overgrowths cannot be ignored and they often accompany low stomach acid, another hypothyroid symptom.
You don't need antibiotics for it, you simply need to stop eating sugar and other foods that possess zero nutrition. Overuse of antibiotics is usually the culprit as to why bacterial overgrowth has occurred in the first place. For many doctors, they just don't realize what they're doing when they give antibiotics for this, that, and whatever else. How can our immune system ever get right if it's constantly being insulted by antibiotics?
We often make the mistake that a new medication will help. It won't. That's like taking two steps forward just to find out much later that it was actually fifty steps backward and has caused more problems along the way! It's because hypothyroidism has over 300 symptoms! As the body goes without adequate T3 in the cells, the systems of the body slow down. That slowing is caused by hypothyroidism. Nothing will change that except improving nutritional levels, hormonal levels, and especially replenishing the body's cells with thyroid hormone. From then on, it's maintaining that balance and a lifestyle conducive to promoting good health. That means all junk foods are four-letter-words! J-U-N-K. No nutritional value means it will make you sick... eventually. Go gluten-free if you haven't already. Ridding my body of gluten got rid of 40 years of Crohn's Disease. Amazing, isn't it? Crohn's should be called "aggravated hypothyroidism!"
Such mislabeled illness can go on for decades. Including heart problems that are caused by thyroid dysfunction. It makes sense as the thyroid is the regulator of the heart. If the regulator isn't regulating... then the heart is out of control.
In my case, it took over five decades before learning there was a reason for everything that was happening to my body. You just need to learn all you can about what has worked for others and why it worked. We all are at various crossroads of hypothyroidism on our way to achieving a euthyroid body -- even if that is done by making use of extraneous thyroid hormone. This is why this forum is so valuable to so many.
Taking a truly proactive stance and learning how to definitively address your thyroid insufficiency is the key to your heart problems. But most in conventional medicine are still not aware of that realization -- though those in authoritative positions have proven it.
The key to regaining your health and quality of life is really in your hands more now than ever before. And for that, we must all be grateful. Imagine no more having to complain to doctors that they don't understand how you feel or that they are insensitive to it. No more of that when you take the reins of your health in your own hands and teach your doctor, if need be, how to assess your needs.
Remember, if you're having symptoms that are interfering with your life, then it's not good enough to just restore the daily amount of T3. But instead, you must actively replenish in a systematic fashion, all the T3 that has been depleted and has caused your body to become symptomatic on so many levels. The only way to force your doctor to adhere to what is needed is to get them to see things much more clearly by way of an SHBG test. It is the test that will target what your body needs by way of thyroid hormone amount and type. The SHBG test is imperative for that assessment.
And don't forget nutrient levels!
Be sure to compare your results to that of Functional Medicine which narrows down to optimal levels found in the healthiest people who have no ailments or illness at all.
joshgitalis.com/what-is-fun...
Knowledge is power. Learning all you can about how to heal your body is step one. Then you go about seeing it through.
You're in the right place.
Healing Hugs to all!
Charmaine
Hi
I went to an acupuncturist after I was diagnosed hypo and was told my heart was weak, I was only taking levothyroxine, pulse was low, around 60 temperature was also low, bewteen 33-34, started to self medicate with cynomel, pulse now back to my normal 75-78, temperature has risen to 36-37, I'm feeling much better, no longer depressed no joint or mucsle pain.
I have been back to GP, who has told me that my heart is only a little enlarged and probably due to how I took my breath in! With regards to my ECG, he said “ ECG is just within normal limits..... I have heard this many times with regards to bloods, but ECG is a new one on me. Glad I took my husband otherwise I would doubt I actually heard right. However, I have been sent for a NT-pro BNP blood test
I haven't had time to read all the posts but what an eye opening discussion about the way our doctors' mistreatment of us is damaging to our hearts. I was grossly undermedicated for quite some time. At the lowest point, my heart rate was down to 60 beats per minute which is absolutelynot normal for me.
Enlarged tyroid
Adrenal gland enlargement
Enlarged Thyroid
Possible enlarged thyroid
