Is hyperthyroid heart disease difficult to treat?

Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
Updated on January 01, 2025
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Hyperthyroidism occurs when an excessive amount of T3 and T4 is released by the thyroid gland, leading to hyperactive metabolism throughout the body. This can cause disturbances in autonomic nervous function or receptor hyperactivity, resulting in a series of conditions related to excessive cardiac load and insufficient blood supply. Therefore, the majority of hyperthyroidism-related heart diseases improve after controlling the hyperthyroidism and are relatively easy to treat. However, if the thyroid function is not controlled repeatedly, or if the treatment is not effective, it may lead to severe enlargement of the heart and recurrent arrhythmias, making hyperthyroid heart disease difficult to cure. Nonetheless, such cases are relatively rare, with an incidence of less than 10%.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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What is heart disease?

Heart disease is caused by various factors that invade the heart, resulting in the loss of its normal physiological functions. Common causes of heart disease include rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, viral myocarditis, coronary artery disease, and pulmonary heart disease. These diseases are considered organic heart diseases, caused by various reasons that lead to pathological changes in the heart's muscles, valves, etc., losing the heart's normal ability to pump blood and supply the body with blood.

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Written by Li Tao
Pulmonology
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Symptoms of cor pulmonale

Cor pulmonale refers to a disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to pathologies of the bronchi, lung tissue, chest wall, and blood vessels of the lungs, leading to pulmonary arterial hypertension and structural and functional changes in the right ventricle. The common clinical symptoms of cor pulmonale include coughing, expectoration, shortness of breath, significant palpitations, and breathing difficulties after physical activity, reduced work capacity, and exacerbation of the above symptoms during acute infection phases. Some patients may experience chest pain and hemoptysis. The second set of symptoms relates to heart and lung function, manifesting during the decompensation phase. For instance, some patients may develop respiratory failure, and experience headaches, decreased appetite, drowsiness, significant edema in the lower extremities, and further symptoms such as arrhythmias, anorexia, abdominal distension, and nausea.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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How do you get heart disease?

There are many causes of heart disease, the most common being coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, which is due to long-term hyperlipidemia leading to arteriosclerosis. After the coronary arteries harden, the lumen narrows, resulting in insufficient myocardial blood supply and the onset of coronary heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease occurs when the body is infected with streptococcus and does not receive adequate treatment, leading to an abnormal immune response that attacks the heart valves, causing valve damage. Pulmonary heart disease is caused by long-term insufficient ventilation leading to emphysema, and pulmonary hypertension increases the resistance on the heart, causing right ventricular hypertrophy.

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Written by Li Tao
Pulmonology
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How is cor pulmonale treated?

Cor pulmonale refers to the disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to pathological changes in the bronchi, lung tissue, thorax, or pulmonary vessels, leading to pulmonary arterial pressure and subsequently causing changes in the structure and function of the right ventricle. When cor pulmonale occurs, treatment is generally divided into the acute exacerbation phase where active control of infections, clearing of the airways, improvement of respiratory function, correction of hypoxia and carbon dioxide retention, control of respiratory failure and acute heart failure, and management of complications are emphasized. During the chronic remission phase, the goal is to enhance the patient's immune function, eliminate triggering factors, reduce or avoid the occurrence of acute exacerbations, and partially or fully restore cardiopulmonary function.

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Written by Liu Ying
Cardiology
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Characteristics of chest pain in heart disease

Chest pain from heart disease is often located behind the sternum and presents as compressive tightness or burning pain, among other sensations. This pain can radiate to the back, left shoulder, left upper limb, or even to the lower jaw area, lasting from several minutes to dozens of minutes. If it is stable angina, it often occurs due to overeating, exertion, cold, and other causes, and can be relieved by rest or taking sublingual nitroglycerin. If it is unstable angina, it may occur even while at rest, and rest or sublingual nitroglycerin may not effectively alleviate the symptoms.