What is graves disease and can it kill?

Graves' disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism. It occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your thyroid gland and causes it to overproduce the hormone called thyroxine. This abnormal immune response can also affect the tissue behind your eyes as well as your skin, usually on your lower legs and feet.

When you have too much thyroid hormone in your system, your body's metabolism rate can increase by 60 percent to 100 percent because thyroxine regulates your cells' metabolism. A higher metabolism can lead to a number of health problems, such as an irregular heartbeat or anxiety.

Graves' disease is rarely life-threatening. Although it may develop at any age and in either men or women, Graves' disease is more common in women and usually begins after age 20. The disorder is uncommon, affecting about five in every 10,000 people in the United States.

There's no way to stop your immune system from attacking the thyroid gland, but treatments can decrease the production of thyroxine

For more information see the following link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/graves-...

considering that's my family name (graves)...yes, I can kill...but only when provoked to do such a horrible action.

Barbra Bush has that disease. I don't know all of the details of it though.

It is a serious form of hyperthyroidism. The thyroid is way too fast. From the National Inst. of Health:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...

Graves disease is a disease that effects your thyroid. If it goes untreated it could potentially kill, as does any disease. I highly recommend visiting with an internal medicine Dr. as soon as possible and start talking over your options. It could mean simply taking a small pill, or mean needing surgery.

Please see a DR. ASAP!