Except in some special cases, hypothyroidism usually does not have serious consequences.
At present, thyroid function tests are very common, and there are very few cases of "hypothyroidism is very serious but has not been diagnosed and treated", so hypothyroidism rarely leads to serious consequences.
However, if the degree of hypothyroidism is severe or occurs more suddenly (such as years of hypothyroidism in an elderly person living alone, or thyroid hormone supplementation after thyroidectomy, or sudden discontinuation of thyroid hormones that were originally taking larger doses of thyroid hormones), it may cause obvious symptoms and lead to some serious consequences, such as:
1. Heart disease: including pericardial effusion, heart failure, coronary heart disease, etc., commonly seen in patients with hypothyroidism that has a bad heart.
2. Myxoedema coma: it is a multi-organ dysfunction caused by severe hypothyroidism, which is mainly manifested as hypothermia, apathy, coma, and high mortality.
3. Drug poisoning: because hypothyroidism will lead to a decrease in the body's ability to clear drugs, such as anti-epileptic drugs, anticoagulants, sleeping pills, painkillers, etc. If the dose of the above drugs is not reduced after hypothyroidism, drug intoxication may result.
In addition, untreated hypothyroidism can lead to infertility and various complications during pregnancy, such as hypertension during pregnancy, placental abruption, preterm birth, low birth weight, postpartum haemorrhage, dyspnea and death in newborns, and intellectual impairment in children.
Wikipedian author
Attending physician of the Department of Endocrinology
Audit specialists
Liu Shiyi Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Endocrinology of Nephrology
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