This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Anabolic steroids and cardiovascular effects

Authoring team

Cardiovascular:

  • effects of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) include:

    • anecdotal reports have linked AAS to myocardial infarction and sudden death

      • these cases have generally occurred in young men (using high doses of multiple androgens) without any previous cardiac history and normal coronary arteries on autopsy. A common autopsy finding are the hypercontracted, deeply eosinophilic cardiac myocytes with disruption of myofibrillar structure

    • use of AAS has also been associated with septal and left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac arrhythmias

    • both systolic and diastolic dysfunction that was directly related to the dose and duration of AAS use

    • use of AAS, not unexpectedly, has been associated with polycythemia and adverse changes in clotting factors

    • one of the most commonly seen undesirable effects of androgens, particularly nonaromatizable androgens, is a significant decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
      • nonaromatizable androgens like stanozolol can decrease plasma high-density lipoprotein by more than 30%
      • decline is significantly less with use of aromatizable androgens such as testosterone
      • AAS also increase hepatic lipase activity, thereby contributing to dyslipidemia. All these pathways by which AAS influence cardiovascular risk make cardiovascular disease a serious consequence of AAS

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.