# Heart Problems Even After Years of Treatment?



## Endlessness (Oct 5, 2011)

Hi there! It's been a while, but I have another question...

Just as a quick reminder, I was diagnosed with Grave's at 7 years old, hospitalized because my heart was going way too fast, and eventually I got the RAI treatment at 16 years old. I'm now 27 years old.

I noticed that my heart has ALWAYS been beating faster than normal. Sometimes, when I go to the doctor, they make me do a quick EKG (even if I'm there for something else) because my heart is going too fast for them. I've done two Holter monitors, lots of EKG, X-rays, and they keep telling me that my heart is in great condition.

Is it normal for us to have chronic tachycardia because of the disease, even when all of our hormone levels are normal? My heart normally beats at about 100-105, but it easily goes up to 120 sometimes.

I also get chest pains and cramps that I've learned to ignore, and I do have PVCs that they saw on the Holter monitor results.

Anybody else with this? And is it dangerous? They keep telling me it's not, but I can't help but be afraid that they're missing something... or that it'll damage my heart over time.


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## charliehorse (Oct 29, 2011)

are you on any beta blockers? they help some people. i was put on them when i was 18 and did not have thyroid issues..just a fast heart beat and a strange ekg once. i stopped taking it bc orthostatic hypotension...i was almost passig out everytime i got up or bent over. i forgot i had taken it and in 2002 was sent to the er bc my heart rate jumped at work to 155 and i was just sitting in a chair. put on beta blockers again. had to get off bc the orthostatic hypotension. last september, i begged my GP to check my thyroid bc all these symptoms and my hair was falling out horribly. they checked and i was very hyperthyroid. they put me on a bet blocker. it did not slow my heart rate at all and caused, again, orthostatic hypotension and chest pain. had to quit taking it. saw a cardiologist last month and he put me on a different one. ekg was normal i think and my monitor showed some elevation but nothing he was worried about. i have a minor prolapse. he did put me on a different bet blocker and it caused severe chest pain when i took it and never slowed my heart. at my last visit with my history he didn't seemed to concerned about it. so...i dont know. it didnt seem to be a big issue for him even with how long ive had it. i didnt have thyroid issues when i was younger but still had tachycardia. i dont know how to fix it bc i dont respond to treatments. id think if it were a big issue the cardiologist would have said something..??? id hope any way...lol.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Generally a mild sinus tachycardia, as long it does not co-exist with another arrhythmia or high blood pressure, is not considered harmful.

Beta blockers are safe long term medications for rate control--but they do lower your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat with less force--if your blood pressure is normal, they can cause unpleasant side effects.

I am assuming your thyroid levels, especially the free T3 are in the normal range and not high? That could also cause it, as can levels that are too low in the range (believe it or not).


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## jmill (Mar 23, 2010)

I take a very small dose of beta blocker, Nadolol, and it doesn't seem to cause any negative side effects. It drops my resting heart rate from 100bps to the mid fifties. It is really a small dose and doesn't do much to reduce blood pressure. I only take 20mg a day which is not enough to really affect blood pressure for me. FYI: two years ago when I first developed overt thyroid problems, I started out with cardiac problems as a symptom. I wore a Holter monitor and had 480 events in 24 hours. A couple of weeks ago I had one on and had no events in 24 hours. The difference is that I started on Synthroid in Nov 2011. Makes it pretty obvious the cardiac problems were from the thyroid.


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## I DClaire (Jul 31, 2011)

I am 65 with absolutely no history of heart symptoms prior to being diagnosed as hyperthyroid almost 4 years ago. More than anything else I think it was palpitations, elevated blood pressure, etc., that sent me to the doctor and that same week my cardiologist noted that heart symptoms were one of the ways a lot of patients discover they have thyroid issues.

I've taken blood pressure drugs and beta blockers - currently I take Toprol XL that is supposed to help with blood pressure and heart rate. When I had my thyroid removed in late September I foolishly thought my heart symptoms were going to magically disappear as soon as my Synthroid kicked in but neither thing happened. I had problems with Synthroid and my heart problems continued...UNTIL TODAY!

I had been on 60 mg Armour until yesterday when lab results got me bumped-up to 90 mg Armour. Today, for the first time in months, if not years, my heart has behaved as normally as it probably knows how to behave!

I've gone to the cardiologist several times complaining of chest pain, breathlessness, elevated blood pressure, racing heart...it just never subsided and all I could think about was the damage all this had to be doing to my heart but the cardiologist said no, he did not think it was doing any damage whatsoever...and, at least three times, he reinterated that my symptoms would subside when I got my thyroid "under control".

I can't help but believe the added Armour today has finally made an impact! It feels so good not to sit here with my heart racing and not feeling short of breath.

For the first time in my life my cholesterol is elevated...but...if I can shake my heart symptoms, begin exercising again and following a healthy diet, I'm hopeful I can avoid statins.


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## Fissy (Sep 20, 2011)

Hi Endlessness, have you been considered for inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) if your hormone levels are normal?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Endlessness said:


> Hi there! It's been a while, but I have another question...
> 
> Just as a quick reminder, I was diagnosed with Grave's at 7 years old, hospitalized because my heart was going way too fast, and eventually I got the RAI treatment at 16 years old. I'm now 27 years old.
> 
> ...


We need to see your most recent lab results with the ranges. If you are undermedicated or overmedicated; this can cause irregular rhythm.

Let us see as soon as you can.

Also, what thyroxine replacement and how much are you taking also?

it is my personal opinion that on the long-term, this can damage the heart,


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## northernlite (Oct 28, 2010)

I also have had a high heart rate, even at rest, since I was a child as well as an occasional tachycardic arrhythmia (over 200 beats per min) since I was 16.

I started taking a beta blocker when I was 30. It lowers my blood pressure, takes my resting heart rate from over 100 to 70-80 and almost completely eliminates my tachycardic events.

My doctors were never concerned about my high heart rate either and that always bothered me too and I had the same feeling like you do that my heart was working awfully hard all the time.

I have no side effects from the beta blocker (I take an older one - Tenormin or Atenolol) and I love it because it make me comfortable by eliminating all the weird sensations that you have when your heart does funny things.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Please post your current labs with ranges.


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## I DClaire (Jul 31, 2011)

Does anyone else have Left Bundle Branch Block? I thought I'd heard every heart condition on earth with my husband but my cardiologist said I had LBBB after my initial tests when I was first diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I think it means my heart skips beats.

The cardiologist said it wasn't serious that he has it himself but I've had EKG's throughout my entire adult life and nobody ever noted that prior to when my thyroid symptoms became a problem.


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## Endlessness (Oct 5, 2011)

Thank you everyone for answering! Sorry I'm replying so late.

The tachycardia has ALWAYS been present for the past ten years (at least), no matter if my levels were ok or not, which is why I'm asking if it's normal. Andros, you say that you think it can damage the heart over time, do you think I damaged mine?  I'm worried.

Maybe I should ask for beta blockers... Although I have to admit I don't like taking extra medication, since you never know what they can do to your body over time.

Here are my results. Just so you know, I used to take Synthroid after the RAI treatment, but then got switched to Levothyroxine, which I took for the past 5 years, but it was a roller coaster level-wise. So I JUST switched back to Synthroid 100 MCG. Here are my last levels from December, about 2 months after switching:

TSH 0.59	uIU/mL (range 0.34 - 4.82)
Free T4	1.33	ng/dL (range 0.59 - 1.61)
Free T3	3.04	pg/mL (range 2.3 - 4.2	)

And in case it counts, here's the TSH in November (6 weeks after switching):
TSH 1.99 uIU/mL (range 0.34 - 4.82)

And right before switching, in October:
TSH 14.72	uIU/mL (range 0.34 - 4.82)
Free T4	1.21 ng/dL (range 0.59 - 1.61)


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## Endlessness (Oct 5, 2011)

Fissy said:


> Hi Endlessness, have you been considered for inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) if your hormone levels are normal?


Nobody ever mentioned that! But I looked online; my heart rate actually does not go that much higher than normal people when I exercise. I'm usually around 155-160 when I do the elliptical. And I wouldn't say I have exercise intolerance, although I'm not a fan of it 

Unless you can have IST even if you don't have all of the symptoms. Hmm.

Maybe I need to mention that to my doctor? Thanks for the tip!


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Normal resting heart rate is considered to be about 60 to 100 beats per minute.

One of the things that the studies such as a Holter monitor looks at is what your heart is doing when you are truly at rest--sleeping. If you heart is slowing down during that period, and rising and falling normally during exercise, then your doctors have probably observed it's behavior as normal, but on the "fast" side when active.

A tachycardia will tend to persist while the patient is sleeping, and cause abnormally high sitting rates--generally into the 140's, and much higher than normal exercise rates.

If you have had the appropriate testing and it checks out, most resources do say that having a mildly elevated heart rate is okay. Discuss it with your doctor if you are having other symptoms, such as palpitations, and see what they say.

Your levels from December look good. Hopefully they will stabilize now that you are back on a brand medication.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Endlessness said:


> Thank you everyone for answering! Sorry I'm replying so late.
> 
> The tachycardia has ALWAYS been present for the past ten years (at least), no matter if my levels were ok or not, which is why I'm asking if it's normal. Andros, you say that you think it can damage the heart over time, do you think I damaged mine?  I'm worried.
> 
> ...


Your numbers don't look optimal to me. Most of us feel best w/TSH @ 1.0 or less and the FREE T3 @ about 75% of the range given by your lab. Yours is barely above the mid-range.

This can be very hard on the heart. The other thing I would advise is to get a FERRITIN test.

Ferritin http://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/081504.htm
(should be 50 to 100; the closer to 100, the better)

I am thinking you may benefit greatly by finding a doctor to try you on Armour or adding a small amount of Cytomel (T3) to your T4 supplementation.


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