flickr.com/photos/ alfromelkhorn /5069935943

I have many patients who are tired/fatigued. One condition for me to rule out is hypothyroidism. This is when the thyroid gland—the gland in front of your neck—isn’t working as well as it should. There is an inexpensive blood test which can show how the thyroid is working.

A low functioning/sluggish makes the thyroid work extra hard to get the normal amount of circulating thyroid hormone in the blood stream. This condition is called “subclinical hypothyroidism.” A new study of nearly 5000 patients showed that levothyroxine (generic thyroid replacement medicine) reduced all-cause mortality and the number of heart disease events in adults under age 70–those over 70 were not found to benefit. The number of ischemic heart disease (the heart not getting enough blood) was lowered by 39% in those whose subclinical hypothyroidism was treated with levothyroxine, compared to those who were left untreated. All-cause mortality was lowered by 64% in the treated patients in the younger age group.

… something to think about…