When you have hypothyroidism, your body doesn't make enough thyroid hormones. This can increase your cholesterol levels. In fact, research suggests that even slightly low levels of thyroid hormones can cause a spike in cholesterol. Thyroid hormones help your liver process blood.
When the body does not produce enough thyroid hormones, the liver cannot process as much cholesterol as usual. An underactive thyroid means that the body removes less LDL cholesterol from the blood. This can lead to high levels of LDL and total cholesterol.
Hyperthyroidism exhibits an enhanced excretion of cholesterol and an increased turnover of LDL resulting in a decrease of total and LDL cholesterol, whereas HDL are decreased or not affected. The action of thyroid hormone on Lp(a) lipoprotein is still debated, because both decrease or no changes have been reported.
Indeed, even within the normal range of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) values, a linear increase in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TGs) and a linear decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels has been observed with increasing TSH [4].
Some behaviors or conditions can cause sudden increases in blood cholesterol. This includes high coffee intake, rapid weight loss, cigarette smoking, and psychological stress. Being pregnant and taking certain medications, such as antihypertensive drugs, can also quickly increase cholesterol.
Taking the thyroid hormone replacement medicine levothyroxine (Levothroid, Synthroid) to treat an underactive thyroid can also help lower your cholesterol level. When your thyroid hormone level is just marginally low, you may not need thyroid hormone replacement.
Shifts in hormone levels cause most of the changes that happen during menopause. A reduction in the hormone estrogen can cause LDL cholesterol levels to rise.
This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.
Too much bad cholesterol can increase your chance of getting heart disease, stroke, and other problems. The medical term for high blood cholesterol is lipid disorder, hyperlipidemia, or hypercholesterolemia.
High cholesterol raises your risk of conditions like peripheral artery disease, high blood pressure and stroke. High cholesterol is common among people with diabetes.
Thyroid disorders can have a noticeable impact on your energy level and mood. Hypothyroidism tends to make people feel tired, sluggish, and depressed. Hyperthyroidism can cause anxiety, problems sleeping, restlessness, and irritability.
About overactive thyroids
Excess levels of thyroid hormones can then speed up the body's metabolism, triggering a range of symptoms, such as: nervousness and anxiety. hyperactivity – where a person can't stay still and is full of nervous energy. unexplained or unplanned weight loss.
Low thyroid activity is linked to high total and LDL cholesterol. Without treatment, an underactive thyroid could lead to heart disease, stroke, and other health issues. High thyroid activity is linked to low cholesterol. Untreated, an overactive thyroid can lead to brittle bones, abnormal heart rhythm, and more.
Specifically, antacids, calcium, cholesterol drugs, and iron supplements can each interfere with the way the thyroid hormone is absorbed. So, you should take these particular drugs four hours before or after taking your thyroid medication, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
LDL CHOLESTEROL
Thyroid hormone stimulates the expression of LDL receptors and in hypothyroidism the number of hepatic LDL receptors is reduced leading to the decreased clearance of circulating LDL (122,153-158). This decreased clearance of LDL accounts for the increase in plasma LDL levels.
Chronic stress leads to consistently high levels of stress hormones, which in turn can lead to consistently high blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and/or triglycerides.
Is stress linked to high cholesterol? The short is yes. Feeling under pressure for a long time can raise your risk of high cholesterol and even heart disease. But you can take steps to get your stress under control and protect your heart.
Treatment for hypothyroidism usually includes taking the thyroid hormone medicine levothyroxine (Levo-T, Synthroid, others) every day. This medicine is taken by mouth. It returns hormone levels to a healthy range, eliminating symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Untreated hypothyroidism can lead to serious complications, including heart disease and nerve damage. In rare cases, it can be fatal. Most people with hypothyroidism have to take thyroid hormone replacement long term.