Transcription
You might have heard that thyroid medication can cause a heart attack, but that's not the whole story. Here's what you need to know.
First, at the right dose, it actually protects your heart. Low thyroid causes high cholesterol, and this increases your risk of having a heart attack all by itself, but only if it goes untreated. When you take thyroid medication, it naturally lowers your cholesterol, which reduces your risk of having a heart attack. The key is that this only happens if you take the right type and dose of thyroid meds, which unfortunately most people are not.
Second, the real risk comes from taking too much. Taking more thyroid medication than you need puts you into a hyperthyroid state, and this makes your heart beat faster and stronger than it should. If you already have a buildup of plaque inside of your arteries, this increase in strain can unmask that problem, but it's not necessarily the fault of the thyroid medication. It's just telling you you already had a problem.
Third, some medications have a bigger impact on your heart than others. Levothyroxine, for instance, has a very weak effect on the heart. Medications that contain T3, like Armour Thyroid or liothyronine, are much stronger. That doesn't make them bad, but it does mean that they're more likely to cause heart palpitations and a rapid heart rate.
The bottom line is that your thyroid medication is not the problem. It's all about the type and the dose that you're taking. Are you someone who is worried about your heart on your thyroid meds? Let me know in the comments below.