Heart Attack At 20 From Steroids

By rjoachim | March 13, 2023

Cardiovascular disease is but one of the many things that should keep athletes from abusing steroids. But the fact that large amounts of testosterone harm the heart and metabolism doesn’t necessarily mean that physiological amounts are also harmful. In fact, research is challenging these old dogmas.Heart disease and testosterone are mighty complex on their own, and studies that evaluate the two together are more complex still. Scientists who undertake these daunting investigations must account for all the things that influence heart disease and all the variables that affect testosterone. They must also decide whether to study men with normal testosterone levels or men who have low levels (called hypogonadism), either because of natural factors or because of androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer. And doctors who investigate the effects of testosterone therapy can do so either in healthy men or in patients with cardiovascular disease. Finally, even if results suggest that testosterone might help the heart, the effects of hormone therapy on the rest of the body would also have to be considered.In high doses, androgens tend to raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and lower HDL cholesterol levels. That’s one of the things that gave testosterone its bad reputation. But in other circumstances, the situation is very different. Men who receive androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer drop their testosterone levels nearly to zero, and when that happens, their cholesterol levels rise. Even within the normal range, men with the lowest testosterone levels tend to have the highest cholesterol levels. And when doctors from the Mayo Clinic reviewed 30 trials of testosterone-replacement therapy, they did not find any overall effect of hormone treatment on cholesterol levels, for good or ill.

Red flags

  • Low libido (sex drive)
  • Osteoporosis or low-trauma fractures
  • Hot flashes and night sweats
  • Infertility

Less specific symptoms

  • Decreased spontaneous erections
  • Loss of height
  • Loss of muscle bulk
  • Fatigue or lethargy
  • Depression
  • Anemia
  • Breast enlargement
  • Reduced facial or body hair
  • Shrinking or very small testicles
  • Diminished physical function
  • Low testosterone levels have been linked to various cardiac risk factors, but that doesn’t prove that low levels actually cause heart disease. Still, if testosterone therapy could help men with heart disease, it would bolster the argument that testosterone may be safe for the heart. Only a few small, short-term studies have been published to date, and the results offer mixed support for this theory.
  • Blood vessels and heart muscle cells have receptors that latch on to testosterone. Men who undergo androgen-deprivation therapy develop abnormally stiff arteries. In men with atherosclerosis and normal testosterone levels, short-term treatment with testosterone improves vascular reactivity and blood flow.
    • https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/testosterone-and-the-heart
Posted in Natural & Holistic