Study Links Heart Disease to Ovary Cysts

From Ninemsn:  “An Australian study has identified a previously unsuspected cause of heart disease in women, the hormonal disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

The condition affects about ten per cent of women of reproductive age and it is a leading cause of infertility.

Adelaide-based researchers have warned that young women with PCOS may show signs of irregular heart function otherwise expected in much older women with known heart disease.”

As soon as I read this article, my ears pricked up, due to some research I had done on iodine and iodine deficiency states for a in-depth look at this subject in an article I wrote for my Membership Magazine.  Here are a couple of excerpts that may start to join the dots together…

“If you ask most doctors or physicians today about the role of iodine in the human body, the answer you are likely to get is that it is required in very small amounts to make thyroid hormones.  Yet only 2-3% of the iodine in the body is utilised by the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones.

70% of available iodine concentrates in the muscles and fat tissue (including breasts), 20% in the skin and 7% in the ovaries – although iodine has systemic effects on all areas of the body.  Breast tissue, ovaries, uterus, testes and the skin all have a high demand for iodine, so associating iodine only with the thyroid gland is a limited approach to understanding the complex therapeutic effects of this element.

The problem of cysts in the body of any type, are often related to iodine deficiency.

In a low iodine state the thyroid responds by producing a goitre – enlargement, cysts, nodules, scar tissue, inflammation, tenderness and cancer can develop.  We call this Hypothyroidism.

In breast tissue that is deficient in iodine we get enlargement, cysts, nodules, scar tissue, inflammation, tenderness and cancer can develop.  We call this fibrocystic breast disease.

In ovaries that are deficient in iodine we get enlargement, cysts, nodules, scar tissue, inflammation, tenderness and cancer can develop.  We call this Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

In the prostate gland that is deficient in iodine we get enlargement, cysts, nodules, scar tissue, inflammation, tenderness and cancer can develop.  We call this Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Prostate cancer incidence seems to parallel breast cancer rates.

There is some very important independent research being done linking these common symptoms of iodine insufficiency and the prevention of these seemingly related disorders. The incidence of hypertension, atherosclerosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, FBD and fibromyalgia have all increased as intakes of iodine have plummeted.

Heart disease and iodine

In goitre the incidence of heart attack increases to 3.5 times higher than the general population – and in mild hypothyroidism the risk of heart attack increases 3.1 times.

In rabbits fed high fat diets to induce atherosclerosis, when iodine was added to the diet their was a dramatic decrease in hardening of the arteries and heart disease risk. In the past, hypothyroidism was partially diagnosed by high cholesterol levels – a factor that is dismissed in today’s medical world. Iodine is an antioxidant which helps to stop fats becoming oxidised, including the membranes of our cells and is protective of cholesterol.

In hypertension, iodine lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels and was used in the past for treating high blood pressure conditions.  Cardiac arrhythmias have also been shown to improve with adequate iodine.”

To my way of thinking there could definitely be a link here between iodine deficiney, PCOS and the heart issues seen in the patients in the study.  Maybe they should check these patients iodine status and see if there is a connection?  What do you think?

Leisa