Can thyroid gland cause panic?

We all know that the thyroid gland is a major endocrine organ in the human body. Its abnormality can cause the body's internal homeostasis to be disrupted. But at the same time, both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can cause heart abnormalities. When the thyroid gland secretes too much hormone, the patient will experience chest tightness, shortness of breath, and palpitations. The same thing can happen when the thyroid gland secretes too little hormone. This is mainly because hormones affect the body's metabolism, and abnormal thyroid secretion reduces output, causing an increase in pulse pressure, thereby affecting the heart.

In medicine, the speed of heartbeat is called heart rate. The normal heart rate range is 60 to 100 beats per minute. In daily life, you can count your heart rate by measuring your pulse. You can feel the pulse at your wrist, elbow, neck, and instep. Place your index, middle and ring fingers on your pulse and record the number of beats in 1 minute. If it exceeds the normal range, you should pay attention. People with certain heart conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, cannot use pulse instead of heart rate because their heartbeat and pulse are out of sync.

In fact, both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can cause cardiovascular dysfunction. When the thyroid hormone is secreted too much - known as hyperthyroidism - the patient may experience symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness and shortness of breath. At this time, the basal metabolic rate increases, the excitability of the heart increases, the myocardial oxygen consumption increases, the heart rate accelerates, the cardiac output increases, the peripheral blood vessels dilate, the blood pressure increases, the pulse pressure difference increases, and the myocardial hypoxia and degeneration occur, which can lead to hyperthyroid heart disease and can be easily misdiagnosed as coronary heart disease, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.

On the contrary, when the thyroid hormone secretion is insufficient - that is, hypothyroidism, the patient will also feel palpitations, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. At this time, the basal metabolic rate decreases, the heart swells, the excitability decreases, the heart rate slows down, the contraction becomes weak, the cardiac output decreases, and the electrocardiogram shows a low voltage. It is also easy to be misdiagnosed as coronary heart disease, bradycardia, cardiomyopathy, pericardial effusion and other heart diseases. The above symptoms are common symptoms of cardiovascular diseases.

Therefore, when we have symptoms of heart disease, such as palpitations and chest tightness, we should not blindly assume that it is a simple cardiovascular disease. In addition to seeing a cardiologist, we should also consider whether the heart disease is caused by thyroid disease.