Health Conditions

What is it?

Hypothyroidism is a medical condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. Most often it results when part of the thyroid gland fails to work properly. This is referred to as "primary hypothyroidism" and accounts for 95% of all the cases of hypothyroidism. However, hypothyroidism can also be due to a failure of the pituitary gland - the organ responsible for telling the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone. When a malfunctioning pituitary gland is the cause for low thyroid hormone levels, the condition is called "secondary hypothyroidism."

So what is the thyroid gland and why is thyroid hormone important? The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck just under the Adam's apple. The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormone, which acts on many different parts of the body including the muscles, brain, heart, intestines, and skin and helps regulate many bodily functions such as water balance, fat and sugar metabolism, and body temperature. A decrease in thyroid hormone can affect the proper functioning of one or many of these parts of the body.

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