Elevated Diastolic Blood Pressure & Thyroid?

[THoa2022]

I’ve read that thyroid issues can increase diastolic blood pressure while systolic remains normal. I’ve been seeing a slight increase / trend with this. Has anyone else seen this and it meant levothyroxine increase needed?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Raised blood pressure of any type can be caused by several things.

The best way to determine if you need an increase in Levo is to check your blood results. To do this you need a full thyroid panel - TSH, FT4 & FT3 which likely you would need to get done privately.

Do you have a copy of your latest blood results that you can share with us? You are legally entitled to a printed copy of your results, ask at GP reception. In England you can get the NHS app and ask for permission to see your blood results on that by asking at GP’s reception.

When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins. Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...

There is also a new company offering walk in& mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...

Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.

[THoa2022 in reply to Jaydee1507]

thank you! Not yet. I am due for labs later this month.

[arTistapple]

I have it the other way round. Systolic high and diastolic low. I have experienced heart issues for many years, due I am sure to hypothyroidism (undiagnosed until three years ago). As @Jaydee1507 said it can be caused by many things, including hypothyroidism (very very under diagnosed because medics don’t give it a thought/see any connection). Low diastolic is never mentioned to me but medics definitely panic about the high systolic.

This could be because basically they don’t know much beyond their tick box system and I understand low diastolic is heart failure in the making - if it’s not already here.

[kiefer in reply to arTistapple]

Elevated cortisol can and will cause elevated systolic blood pressure as well. That's been my experience. I used T3 to bring down my systolic from 134 to 120 with a consistent BP now of 120/70. My blood and saliva tests both showed elevated cortisol prior.

"Oral cortisol increases blood pressure in a dose-dependent fashion. At a dose of 80-200 mg/day, the peak increases in systolic pressure are of the order of 15 mmHg. Increases in blood pressure are apparent within 24 h."

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/980...

Elevated diastolic blood pressure is primarily a thyroid function issue.

"Low thyroid hormone levels are associated with both systolic and diastolic dysfunction. However, both basic and clinical studies highlight that in hypothyroidism the diastolic abnormalities predominate"

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[arTistapple in reply to kiefer]

So that is going to be good reading. Diastolic gets mentioned so rarely and I am already convinced it’s due to my thyroid. I just have the strangest heart symptoms and for many years, way before I could possibly have had any blockages (I had that confirmed when it kicked off). I can take this info to my new endo who seems to be genuinely interested in thyroid/heart issues. Thank you.

[arTistapple in reply to kiefer]

Brilliant info. Thanks again.

[Thalia56 in reply to arTistapple]

I too have low diastolic, and none of the doctors I’ve seen has been in the least concerned by it. I am, having done some reading, but it just isn’t on their radar.

[THoa2022 in reply to Thalia56]

Thank you!

[humanbean]

This doesn't really answer your questions/comments, but it is very interesting on the subject of high BP and well worth reading.

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2012/...

[THoa2022 in reply to humanbean]

Thank you for sharing this!

[Luckyclaire]

I was initially diagnosed because I noticed my diastolic blood pressure only was high ( 104/117 at rest, 125/140 at drs nervous) as well as developing edema, chest pains and neurological symptoms (tingling numbness, headaches). I have long term had a suppressed body temperature too. Drs and hospital confused, checking for heart and TiA's until my bloods showed sky high TSH, floored FT4. Now I track my heart rate temp and blood pressure. My diastolic is still slightly raised despite adequate treatment (85/120 whereas id been 70/114 when carefree . It still sometimes goes up quickly like to 100 with tinnitus ~ Its a pre warning for me, I have learnt to expect an illness-virus - some kind of wobble when it does. It goes back down when I get better. So, in conclusion it is an interesting marker to consider what's going on with you body but its effected by lots of things, and high diastolic can a sign that your circulatory system is "stiff" or under increased pressure for lots of reasons - it's definitely blood work for thyroid management x ( note: in hindsight I think I'd been hypothroid for about seven plus years, but I was atypical where I was still mostly okay, and after a COVID infection whatever compensation was going on to keep my going stopped working and I went on a fast track into mexoderma)

[arTistapple in reply to Luckyclaire]

I have pulsatile tinnitus ‘warning’ too. At first that was scary and made things worse - full on fast pounding heartbeat etc. Now to some extent I can modify the outcome - thankfully.

The tinnitus started when I initially went to 75mcg Levo and has never left. I only recently understood (in my case) that it had anything to do with what was going on in my heart. Many people with hypo get this without any actual heart issues.

[mrskiki in reply to arTistapple]

Before I was diagnosed I had this but only in my right ear/neck. Real whooshing and pounding there. When I hugged someone goodbye they actually said what’s that! as they could feel it, it has oddly gone now I’m on levothyroxine so I’m thinking now was another missed clue.

[THoa2022 in reply to Luckyclaire]

This was insightful, thank you!

[mrskiki]

I noticed I have developed slightly high diastolic only bp, alongside hypothyroidism, nurses don’t seem to be interested in that number just pleased my systolic is well under 120. Diastolic hypertension seems to get ignored, a bit like thyroid itself.

[THoa2022 in reply to mrskiki]

Agreed

[Italiangirl123]

I too had elevated diastolic pressure which was disproportionate to the systolic pressure. Nevertheless, I was started on blood pressure medication many years ago and it is only now since been diagnosed as hypothyroid in 2022 that my blood pressure is coming down. I am currently still taking losartan and amlodipine but I am considering dropping one of them to start with. However I have not been able to find any information as to which to drop first bearing in mind that they act in different ways.

[arTistapple in reply to Italiangirl123]

My cardiologist wants me to take losartan alongside my long-standing amlodipine. I tried a few before amlodipine which did nothing and brought side effects. That’s interesting what you say about them working differently. My concern with low diastolic is heart failure. It might be the reason T3 is so iffy for me. Livens the heart beyond its capability. I still think if medics knew anything about dosage if T3 it could be beneficial. No doubt we will see.

[THoa2022 in reply to Italiangirl123]

So many cases of undiagnosed hypothyroidism!

[figster]

Hello,

Yes it does seem to go hand in hand with thyroid issues. My diastolic has always been slightly elevated. My systolic usually within the realms of normal. I also have blood pressure spikes and think this is connected to menopause and changes to thyroid levels.

I currently use Olive Leaf Extract and Taurine to manage my BP. I previously used Hawthorn Extract, which was very effective but stopped working for me after about a year.

I do think optimally treated thyroid is essential although even with that my BP is not completely normal anymore. I have always eaten well, exercised regularly etc.

[THoa2022 in reply to figster]

Interesting! Thank you!

[mrskiki in reply to figster]

Hawthorn is interesting, they warn against taking it alongside blood pressure type medication and anti clotting ‘thinners’ plus others, and not to take it before an operation. I was only asked if I took paprika, which I thought odd as it is only one of many things, but I guess at least they were making an effort, and I do use quite a bit of it in cooking and sauces.

[Acommentator in reply to mrskiki]

What does paprika do? I know garlic can thin the blood. Ginger too.

[mrskiki in reply to Acommentator]

I think it’s the same, can slow blood clotting. I was just surprised it was singled out by the nurse at a pre op examination.

[tattybogle]

Re. lowering high blood pressure.. it's also worth trying Flax seeds ( ground , not whole)

it was discussed on Radio 4's 'Just One Thing' ( Michael Mosely )... 18th april 2024

episode title 'Try Flax Seeds' (why feasting on flax seeds could reduce inflammation , blood pressure and benefit your skin)

Search for it on BBC 'Sounds'