Am I at risk of cardiovascular disease?
Dr Smita Gupta
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine,
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism,
Southern Illinois University, USA
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine,
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism,
Southern Illinois University, USA
Q: I am a 32 years old man suffering from hypothyroidism and taking Thyroxine 150 mcg for the last 3 years. Apart from that my blood pressure fluctuates between 120/90 mmHg to 140/100 mmHg and my triglycerides are 200, HDL is 25 mg/dl. Am I at risk for cardiovascular diseases? If yes, how to take care of it?
A:Yes the combination of high cholesterol and hypertension increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The first and foremost thing to do is to make lifestyle changes with healthy diet and exercise. If these alone do not work, then you would need medical treatment to control BP and high cholesterol. I would also advise you to check you blood glucose levels.