Insufficient amounts of thyroid hormone can put your heart at risk. Here’s how to keep your heart healthy when you have hypothyroidism.

Feeling cold and sluggish, being tired, gaining weight, and having dry skin and hair — they’re all common symptoms of hypothyroidism. But when your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone, there could be even more at stake, according to the Hormone Health Network (HHN).

That’s because your thyroid plays a big part in keeping your body running smoothly. In fact, it contributes to functions in your brain, muscles, heart, and more. And, if your thyroid isn’t working as efficiently as it should, that could lead to heart problems, says Melanie Goldfarb, MD, an endocrine surgeon and director of the Endocrine Tumor Program at Providence Saint John’s Health Center and an assistant professor of surgery at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, both in Santa Monica, California.

Hypothyroidism can lead to higher levels of LDL cholesterol — known as the “bad” cholesterol — increasing your heart risk even further, the HHN says.

You may also have:

• Higher blood pressure
• An enlargement of the heart
• A slower heartbeat
• Strain on the heart
• Stiffness of the blood vessel walls

If your hypothyroidism is not controlled, you’re more likely to experience a stroke or a heart attack, Dr. Goldfarb says. There may even be a connection between hypothyroidism and heart failure or metabolic syndrome, according to research published in September 2015 in the journal Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Staying Heart-Healthy With Hypothyroidism
It may be scary to consider the increased risk for heart problems, but there are some things you can do to lower that risk, Goldfarb says. Some of these steps may sound familiar because they’re all part of following a heart-healthy lifestyle.

1. Get your hypothyroidism under control. “That’s the big take-home message,” Goldfarb says. “If your hypothyroidism is kept under control, you’re not at as high of a risk for heart problems.” That means getting regular checks by your doctor to make sure your medicationsare helping to control your condition.
2. Get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly. If you know your numbers are not optimal, then you can make other changes — like the ones suggested below — to help better control blood pressure and cholesterol. That will help maintain a healthier heart.
3. Don’t smoke. It’s not new advice, but it bears repeating. Smoking causes one of every three deaths from cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you’re smoking and you have hypothyroidism, you’re only raising your risk further for heart problems.
4. Maintain a healthy weight. The more you can keep your weight in a healthy range, the more you can lower your bad cholesterol and other heart risks, Goldfarb says.
5. Eat healthfully. A diet that’s rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish, and nuts is better for your heart and your body overall — thus lowering your risk for hypothyroidism-associated heart problems. The American Heart Association (AHA) also advises limiting your intake of sweets, sweetened drinks, red meat, and foods with trans fats.
6. Get regular exercise. Aim for 150 minutes to 300 minutes a week of brisk walking or another activity that you enjoy, suggests the AHA.
7. If you drink alcohol, keep it in check. That means no more than one or two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women, according to the AHA.

Source: everydayhealth
“7 Heart-Healthy Tips for Hypothyroidism” by:Vanessa Caceres