Is hyperthyroidism dangerous?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Bui Minh Duc - Department of General Internal Medicine - Vinmec Times City International Hospital
Hyperthyroidism is a common syndrome caused by many diseases, of which Basedow is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. The thyroid gland plays an important role in the body's metabolism and growth. So how dangerous is hyperthyroidism?

1. What is hyperthyroidism?

First, we need to understand, hyperthyroidism is a syndrome, that is, not a separate disease. There are many diseases causing this syndrome, including Graves' disease - The most common hyperthyroid disease with goiter with protruding eyes, hyperthyroidism; Hyperthyroidism due to toxic goiter, thyroiditis....
Hyperthyroidism is a group of diseases caused by increased secretion of thyroid hormones (triiodothyronine and thyroxin) leading to cardiovascular symptoms, increased metabolism. excessive with the following symptoms: heart palpitations, thin weight loss...

2. What are the symptoms of hyperthyroidism?

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:
Palpitations: feeling of the heart beating fast, strong in the chest, can feel chest pain, shortness of breath.
● Fear of heat: due to the high basal metabolism, the body temperature of hyperthyroid patients is often higher than normal, so the patient often cannot stand places with high temperature or hot weather.
● Diarrhea: Prolonged diarrhea can be a sign of hyperthyroidism, caused by frequent increased bowel movements.
● Hand tremor: Symptoms of hand tremor make the patient unable to control himself, often shaking with a fast frequency and small amplitude
● Goiter: the neck, where the thyroid gland is enlarged, caused by an enlarged thyroid gland. grand.
● Weight loss: people with hyperthyroidism often lose weight, even though the diet is the same as usual, even more, can lose many kilograms within 1 month.
● Sweating a lot: along with the fear of heat, hyperthyroid patients often sweat even when they don't do anything, just sit still.
● Mood swings, irritability, anxiety
● Sleep disorders: Hyperthyroid patients often have trouble sleeping, restless sleep, sleep shorter than usual.
● Weakness and fatigue: fatigue, reduced exercise capacity, the patient does not want to exercise much.

3. Is hyperthyroidism dangerous?

If not detected and treated promptly, hyperthyroidism can cause many dangerous complications including:
Cardiovascular complications: rapid heart rate is common in hyperthyroid patients, serious arrhythmias than atrial fibrillation may be experienced. If not treated promptly, it can lead to heart failure in hyperthyroid patients.
Thyroid storm: when the hormone level is too high, the symptoms suddenly become severe, at this time, the patient's life can be threatened if not diagnosed and treated promptly.
Malignant protrusion: In hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease, the patient may have protrusion of the eye, frequent tearing and increased sensitivity to light, or accompanied by conjunctivitis, corneal damage.

4. How is hyperthyroidism diagnosed?

When you have warning signs of hyperthyroidism, go to a medical facility to be examined by doctors and give appropriate laboratory tests to diagnose the disease.
Tests to be done are: quantification of TSH , FT3, FT4. If you have hyperthyroidism, your test results will show up as increased FT4, FT3, and decreased TSH levels. Other laboratory tests may be added to assess thyroid size and find the cause of hyperthyroidism, such as: thyroid ultrasound, thyroid doppler ultrasound.

5. Treatment of hyperthyroidism

Usually, when detected, hyperthyroidism can be easily treated with medical measures. That is, the patient only needs to take medicine to treat it. Synthetic antithyroid drugs, beta-blockers or sedatives will be prescribed by the physician for patients with hyperthyroidism. However, it should be noted that the treatment period needs to last continuously for 12-18 months, so the patient should not arbitrarily quit when the symptoms of the disease are gone.
The patient's clinical condition will improve after about 2-4 weeks, thyroid function tests also gradually improve after that, TSH usually improves more slowly.
In some cases, the condition of the goiter is large enough to affect aesthetics, or the tumor recurs many times, the tumor can be solved by surgical means or taking radioactive iodine.
Hyperthyroidism is a thyroid hormone disorder, with many clinical manifestations, causing metabolic disorders, affecting the whole body.
Hyperthyroidism can cause many dangerous complications if not diagnosed and treated promptly, therefore, when experiencing warning signs of hyperthyroidism, patients need to go to a medical facility for examination and treatment. timely treatment.

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