Thyroid Problems May Arise Due to Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a condition brought about by high blood pressure. If your blood pressure rises way beyond the normal level and doesn’t come down for some time, it can lead to convulsions, disorder in heart and kidney function in both mother and fetus; it may even result in death.

The British Medical Journal published a study that reports that pregnant women suffering from preeclampsia run a higher risk of developing thyroid malfunction. Women get tired quickly, overcome by general weakness; depression sets in. They may also have problems of cardiovascular nature.

First-time moms who contracted preeclampsia have the risk of developing underactive thyroid after pregnancy (even a number of years after pregnancy!) higher by 1.7 times in comparison to women who didn’t suffer from the disease. Whereas women who had a relapse of preeclampsia in their second pregnancy have six times higher risk.

An increase of a soluble protein known as fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 in the blood induced by preeclampsia means that the thyroid tissue gets a diminished blood supply. It can cause serious thyroid malfunctions with the passing of time.

For women in their first pregnancy preeclampsia may be fraught with subclinical hypothyroidism that may result in hypothyroid malfunction even years afterwards.

Lead researcher Richard Levine warns: “I do not know if subclinical hypothyroidism poses a risk to a woman when pregnant, but it might have health implications for her child since overt hypothyroidism during pregnancy has been linked to lower IQs in the offspring.”

Considering a possible danger for the child, it is advisable for expectant mothers showing symptoms of preeclampsia to run the tests for thyroid, heart and kidney problems.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/glachucik.