What are the clinical signs of hyperthyroidism?
Because the entire body can be affected each hyperthyroid patient may manifest their disease differently. The most common signs of hyperthyroidism include: Back Increased heart rate or tachyarrhythmias. A very common and frequently over looked clinical sign is tachycardia. Since so many cats are stressed in the office veterinarians may assume it is benign or expected. It can be from thyroid toxic effects directly on the rate centers of the heart and also from tachycardia associated with heart failure from cardiac muscle changes due to thyrotoxic (excess thyroid hormone) effects. Back Weight loss An obvious clinical sign but, many times it is not noticed until the patient has lost more then 20% of its original body mass. This is the most common presenting complaint to the veterinarian. Back Change in appetite Although not always obvious to the owner, increases in the cat’s appetite are early signs of hyperthyroidism. Increasing feeding frequency and amount is a common signs. A smaller p
