Hypothyroidism and the heart

[JKristina]

Hi, I am a healthy 26yr old female, no children. About 10 months ago I began having all kinds of weird symptoms, one of which was very scary. It felt like my heart would skip a beat and this would cause me to take a quick deep breath followed by an instant rush of anxiety and panic, but after that 1-2 seconds I was fine. This would happen usually once a day and some days it would not happen at all; it also seemed more frequent when I was cold. Finally I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in Sept. of 07 I began taking 50mcg of levothyroxine, the "heart skipping" nearly disappeared but I began having strong palpations (which to me was better than the skipped beats). Three weeks ago I went in for blood work and my TSH was too low so they changed the dose of levothyroxine to 25mcg. About three days after taking the lower dose I began to feel the "skipped beats" more frequently, usually once a day in the late afternoon, but again some days I wont have any. I am soo frustrated! The stress caused by all of this affects my life daily. However I've been learning to live with it. And I do not want to take any other medications. There is no family hx of heart problems. My question is: is it common for a thyroid problem to affect the heart? and if so should I just get used to this heart beat skipping? is what is happening to me dangerous? Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jkristina

[ifupleze]

I went to the naturopath and had my adrenals check through a saliva test.  I was costly, but well worth it..  He simply put me on 5MGS of DHEA which is the lowest dose you can get because I am very sensitive to meds. I believe they can also test your DHEA through the blood test, too.  

[maryfnpl]

I wondering if it because her T4free is at 17,1 .  But even at that her TSH is definately not within the norm so they have to be able to give her something.    From what I'm understanding is that some doctors look at both levels before prescribe, because her T4 appears to be normal they don't prescribe.  

[JKristina]

I can't understand that either. If your mother's TSH is 21 why they would not put her on meds! There must be a reason? 21 is an extremely high TSH level. My TSH level was 10 before I started taking medicine and I was going absolutely crazy.. I would definitely consult with a new doctor.

[maryfnpl]

My mom has had the exact same symtome for years.  I mean many years almost 30.    I witnessed her having one of those episodes on New years day.  They don't last long about 3 seconds.  But still.  She seems to have gotten used it.  I'm the one who's freaked out.She's 72  I'm telling you my mom is the energizer bunny the woman does not stop.  SHe constantly cooking, baking, planting. She walks everyday and now she's gotten herself a stationary bike all this to say  she doesn't let it rule her life.  She has all the symptoms you describe and excessive dry skin included.

Her thyroid is monitored every 6 months and 2 doctors have told her the same thing.  No medications.  I can't understand this. Her TSH is ,21. There has to be something they can do so I'm going to another Endo.

[JKristina]

I have researched my conditon (hypo) so much; and have read about the link between adrenal function and the thyroid; This scares me! I have been going to get my adrenals checked for a while now, but I know it's expensive. (I have no health insurance right now!!! college student) That is no excuse I know...I need to just do it. If you do require medication for adrenal function how do they figure the dosage? weight? or just take them and see how you feel?; like thyroid medication.

[JKristina]

Thank you for sharing your story with me. I agree! The skipped beats are soo annoying; I'm almost past the point of letting them bother me! *almost* they do scare me; at the beginning of last year (when all my problems started) when I would feel my heart skip a beat I would immediately panic; it was soo bad! The stress was ruining my life. I was upset and crying all the time. I thought I was going to die. The doctor eventually found my thyroid problem, after throwing every anti-depressant imaginable at me; (Hypo) (she was trying to save me money, so she wasn't running blood tests, so my symptoms lasted for 8 months) however, even after I started taking levothyroxine (generic) I still experienced this. After being yanked from Hyper to Hypo and back again; finally I decided to find the correct dose myself, I've been taking a 25 mcg tablet and 1\4 of another 25 mcg tablet everyday, and I feel great. I think maybe because I am so small (5'2 95lbs) that the medicine was affecting me in a more intense way than it should have been. Anyway----- The thyroid; among many other things; regulates the heart beat; I am absolutely 100% sure that my thyroid is the cause of MY skipped beats. I've told my doctor that this is my body--I feel these things--listen to me. Sometimes you just have to research and figure it out yourself. I've been so healthy all of my life, I'm 26 with a healthy family history and--suddenly I get a hypo thyroid (which is genetic in my family) and all of these weird, terribly stressful symptoms began to rule my life! I just try to think positive everyday, and am hoping that my skipped beats go away for good! I hope the same for you CiCi, you are not alone!

[CiCi245]

I hear so much about you on this site.Can you give me some info after reading my posts? How do you get your adrenals checked.Never he heard of that.Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[ifupleze]

Has anyone had their adrenals checked?  They symptoms of adrenal fatigue are the same as hypothyroid and both need to be tested.  I am on 5mgs of DHEA at night plus vit D3 and Bcomplex w/C which I take at least 4 hours after my synthroid and I am feeling better.  My TSH is 29 and by the time it gets to 1.0 I hope to be feeling much better.  I strongly suggest anyone with hypo or hyper get those adrenals checked, somehow from someone.  I had to go to a naturopath to get mine checked by saliva testing.  It is a bit costly, but well worth it to know if your adrenals are functioning, too.  Just treating the thyroid and not the adrenals doesn't work.  In fact, the adrenals should be dealt with before the thyroid.  I found this out by talking to GravesLady, and she was right in my opinion.  Something to consider . . .

[CiCi245]

I'm going to go back a couple of years.....3 years ago I went to go to bed after a school function for my kids and when I layed down I felt my heart was going to pop out of my chest.It got so bad my husband called 911.When they got her I was shaking like crazy and my legs felt like jello...I felt and probably would have fainted if I stood up. They took me to the er with a heart rate of 175. They told me I was having a panic attack.I refused to believe that although the 2 mgs of ativan they gave me did make it get better-till morning-and it all started again .Took my ekg results to my intern and he agreed it was a panic attack .He did take blood to look for HYPERthyroidism but said it was fine.I was so scared and upset being I have four children and couldnt function properly with that scary feeling. They put me on Lexapro.It helped alot! Last year I started experiencing "skipped beats" and went to a cardio doc.They gave me a stress test and it happened during it.They said it was nothing and not to worry about it.It was stress! But they did do a echo cardio gram just to be sure.That was also fine! This year I get diagnosed with Hoshimoto/Hypo-not to bad(3.5) and they put me on synthroid.I asked him to start me off slow because I was afraid of falling into hyper(don't ever want to experience the palpatations again.So, he put me on 88 and was told to split-which is 44.Since I have been taking them(for about a week) I feel like the energizer bunny and have been experiencing those dam skip beats again.But I'm not scheduled for blood work for another 5 weeks.If it gets to bad I will call my endo.But all in all I wonder if all these things I have experienced in the past 3 years could somehow all be related to this thyroid thing and my intern just might of missed it? Not sure.I think it was a little nerve wracking starting meds with a THS level of only 3.5 but my antibodie test thingy was suppose to be 35 and was 658 or something.I did gain weight and felt puffy in the face and my haif was coming out in strands.He said since I was experiencing symptoms the smart thing to do was go on the synthroid...so i did.But, I will not if I start to experience the palps and skipped beats-it's scary and I wouldn't wish that upon a dog!!! Anybody with similar stories please respond-I love this forum.It helps alot. Lots of love,Cindy

[JKristina]

Thank you.

[Newbee2000]

I have hashimoto's hypothyroid and began to have heart palps just before my dx in April '07, especially when I would lay down. And also after I'd fall asleep at night, if I move in bed (in my sleep) it would cause my my heart to pound and race. It was frightening! My MD thought it was all due to hypo and my TSH being too high. I'm much better now, and the heart symptoms have nearly stopped, though not completely. I still get a heart palp every now and then when I lay down. --  I agree w/ AR-10's advice that you should have your blood/TSH tested every 6 weeks to check your thyroid levels. Most MDs try to get your TSH to 1 (or close to 1). Also, some thyroid symptoms need your TSH to be at 1 (or normal) for a few/several months before you improve/recover. FYI, if you take too high a dose of synthroid and become hyper (not hypo) that will cause heart palps (and anxiety!!!) Try to get your TSH in the normal range.  If you're still concerned about the skipped heart beats and palps have your MD run a few basic heart tests. Good luck!

[JKristina]

Thank you. I find some comfort in knowing that I am not alone. I am slowly learning to relax; I'm so glad that I found this site it really helps.

[ella1]

I too have had these problems with my heart since I was 17 (am now 55).  No one could ever diagnose because by the time I would get to a doctor it would stop.  Never had these problems when pregnant (4 kids).  Over the years has gotten progressively worse.  Two years ago, My heart was beating so fast that I went to the emergency room where they told me that my heartbeat was 212 beats per minute.  After testing I was told my heart was fine (echo cardiogram, cardiogram, x=rays.  My TSH was 30.  Started on Synthroid, given Toprol XL for the heart irregularity.  I was told it was Atrial Flutter and the condition is benign and apparently it is for I have had it for many, many years.  Relax, even though I know it's hard .  I've had it all these years and it still frightens me.  Good luck to you.

Ella

[JKristina]

Thank you for your advice..

[AR-10]

The skipped beats and the palpitations are common symptoms of thyroid disease.

How dangerous it is depends on severity and duration of the disruption. It's not healthy. That's all I can say without talking through my hat.

My suggestion would be to get your blood checked every six-eight weeks until you get stabilized. Try to simplify your life for a while by slowing down and cutting out activities that wear you out. Avoid stress. Do fun things. Yada yada yada.