# Thyroid suppression and atrial fibrillation



## Want2FeelGood (Sep 17, 2011)

My TSH is .01 to .06 on 200 mcg of Synthroid a day. T4 is at the upper limit of normal. My doctor is worried I'll get atrial fibrillation but I feel fine and my resting pulse is 60-70. I don't feel nervous or warm.

Have any of you developed fibrillation from thyroid meds ? Should I go see a heart doctor (cardiologist) ?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Prior to my thyroid removal and anti thyroid treatment my heart rate was near 100 all the time - I did not feel it at all. I had a normal beat - no irregularity.

Today if my FT-4 or FT-3 are too high I have anxiety - I don't bother with heartrate.

We are all different and react differently.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Per my surgeon, the goal is to get as suppressed as possible without experiencing hyper symptoms, particularly heart palps. If you aren't having any now, you are fine. If you start experiencing them, you'll need to adjust your meds and that should take care of the problem. I think it would be pre-mature to see a cardiologist at this point.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Age factors into this. Once you pass 60, the likelihood of a fib from suppressed TSH starts to climb.

Is the reason your TSH is suppressed because of Thyca? Depending on your surgery date and other treatment, it is now thought that in lower risk patients, the TSH can be allowed to come up a little bit to the very low end of the normal range to alleviate the risks of atrial fibrillation and osteopenia. See: http://www.thyca.org/tsh-suppression.htm


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

That's good to know, lainey...thanks for posting this!


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## Want2FeelGood (Sep 17, 2011)

lainey said:


> Age factors into this. Once you pass 60, the likelihood of a fib from suppressed TSH starts to climb.


Is the risk from the suppressed TSH or from the elevated thyroid hormone which is reflected by the elevated TSH ?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Want2FeelGood said:


> My TSH is .01 to .06 on 200 mcg of Synthroid a day. T4 is at the upper limit of normal. My doctor is worried I'll get atrial fibrillation but I feel fine and my resting pulse is 60-70. I don't feel nervous or warm.
> 
> Have any of you developed fibrillation from thyroid meds ? Should I go see a heart doctor (cardiologist) ?


Before doing anything, it would be a wise move to get your FREE T3 and FREE T4 run.

Reading this may help.

Dr. Mercola (FREES)
http://www.mercola.com/article/hypothyroid/diagnosis_comp.htm

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.

FREE T3 explained by Woliner
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/testsforthyroid/a/freet3.htm


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

> Is the risk from the suppressed TSH or from the elevated thyroid hormone which is reflected by the elevated TSH ?


The risk is from the suppressed TSH. There is quite a bit of current information.

One recent article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22673318

this one explains it nicely too:

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/medther/tayendoweb/thyroxine_monitoring.htm

There are risk/benefits associated with long term suppressive therapy, for what ever the reason. It has been studied the most in subjects with thyca, because long term suppression is suggested for managing the disease, and considered appropriate. Atrial fibrillation is a real risk to older women on suppressive therapy.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

lainey said:


> The risk is from the suppressed TSH. There is quite a bit of current information.
> 
> One recent article:
> 
> ...


Wonder if these folks are physically fit from walking, other cardio, yoga, Tai Chi etc.? They don't say.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Exercise is a bit of a paradox where a fib is concerned, as it is not uncommon in athletes and endurance sports have been associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

This study was interesting, because it looked at the effect of hard physical labor, as a person may do in their job. It also is associated with an increased risk.

http://europace.oxfordjournals.org/content/10/1/15.full.pdf

The best exercise is mild to moderate activity:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/118/8/800.full

Age and cardiovascular history are a factor in the development in atrial fibrillation as people get older. Hyperthyroidism is also an independent risk factor, regardless of the source.


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