Thyroid cancer is a type of a cancer in which there is a growth of abnormal cells in the thyroid gland of a person and this growth cannot be controlled by the body. Hypertension on the other hand is a chronic medical problem which is also known as high blood pressure and occurs when the blood pressure in the arteries gets increases or elevated.
There have been certain research works and studies which suggest that there is a link or relationship between thyroid cancer and hypertension. Let us discuss this relationship in detail.
- There is a study which suggests that in case of adults suffering from pulmonary hypertension, the chances of getting a thyroid disease or thyroid cancer are higher.
- According to another study conducted by Mayo Clinic, those people who had hypertension and were taking medication were able to slow down any form of thyroid disease but those who were not taking any medication, the thyroid problem remained as it is.
- The main link between hypertension and thyroid cancer is mostly in those cases with MEN or Multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome. This is a very rarely occurring syndrome in which a few endocrine glands tend to develop cancerous or non-cancerous tumors.
- It is known that there are three different types of MEN and MEN2 is the one in which there is maximum risk of the patient developing medullary thyroid cancer. Also, in this case, there is a 50% chance of developing of the tumors in the adrenal glands. As a result of development of these tumors, the blood pressure levels can increase thus causing hypertension. This increase in the levels of the blood pressure is caused because epinephrine as well as some other substances are released due to the development of the tumors.
- The elevated blood pressure as a result of this kind of thyroid cancer or tumor can remain persistent or can even become much severe.
- This establishes that there is a certain link between hypertension and thyroid cancer but most cases where people have thyroid cancer can be treated successfully without any major complications and without the risk of hypertension.
Those people who are suffering from thyroid cancer must check their blood pressure regularly to ensure that the levels are within the normal range. If the blood pressure is found to be high, immediate treatment must be taken.
