[이데일리 이순용 기자] A 61-year-old man, diagnosed with hypothyroidism four years ago, developed hypertension as a result of the effect a year later. After two years he developed enuresis and had to suffer from waking up once or twice a night to urinate. Then four months ago, his right thumb and big toe were tingling. He was fine as long as he didn’t think much of it, but he felt pain when pressed accidentally or when he was tired. The doctor said that peripheral arterial disease or neuropathic pain was suspected and recommended to undergo a thorough examination.
Statistics show that hypothyroidism occurs in 304 cases per 100,000 population in Korea as of 2018. The proportion of female patients is regarding 67%, twice that of male patients. Regardless of gender, it increases rapidly following the age of 40, increases until the age of 60, and then stagnates following the age of 65.
Director Shim Young-ki of Yonsei S Clinic said, “High blood pressure is observed in 20-40% of patients with hypothyroidism, mainly diastolic (diastolic) hypertension, and pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure) decreases.” It shows a downward trend,” he said.
When hypothyroidism occurs, overall circulation and metabolism are reduced. The body temperature drops and the elasticity of peripheral blood vessels decreases. Director Shim said, “When the resistance of peripheral blood vessels increases due to decreased elasticity of peripheral blood vessels, the diastolic blood pressure, which returns blood to the heart, rises. rise,” he said.
If it is not essential (family history or cause unknown), the majority of hypertension that occurs with age is diastolic hypertension due to a decrease in the elasticity of arterial blood vessels.
Nocturia caused by hypothyroidism can be caused by decreased blood circulation and edema due to decreased ability to remove wastes. When an enlarged prostate occurs together with hypothyroidism, nocturia becomes more severe.
Therefore, when hypothyroidism and high blood pressure occur, it is essential to take thyroid hormones and antihypertensive drugs. However, these drugs alone rarely improve the elasticity of blood vessels or relieve pain caused by neuropathy. In the case of gabapentin or pregabalin, which are used for neuropathic pain, the pharmacological mechanism is not yet clear, and the effect is temporary, but rather fatigue, headache, rash, dizziness, ataxia, etc.
He said, “For the vague pain and discomfort caused by hypothyroidism, electrical stimulation treatment can be more effective than drugs. You can consider a method that combines the latest electrical stimulation therapy, such as (LQ therapy), and in this case, you will see surprising results.” A commonly available electromagnetic field patch is a medical device for relieving muscle pain in the form of a pars that emits an electric field of 75 millivolts (mV) with a magnetic flux density of 600 gauss (G).
If electrotherapy is used twice a week for regarding 3 months, minor pain disappears, the stinging feeling caused by hypothyroidism is relieved, and it is a significant help in improving high blood pressure and nocturia.
Director Shim said, “LQ therapy sends a microcurrent of 100~800 nanoamperes (㎁) to a high voltage of 1500~3000V deep in the skin to the unit of diseased cells. “The goal is to improve not only uncomfortable thyroid symptoms, but also hypertension and enuresis by improving the decrease in the elasticity of blood vessels due to hypothyroidism with electrical energy.”
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