Taylor Hooton Foundation > Hoot’s Corner > General > The Deadly Side Effect Of Steroids Won't Notice Until Years Later
May 23, 2017
The Deadly Side Effect Of Steroids Won't Notice Until Years Later
Image result for steroids heart
L. Heart of a normal adult R. Heart of a steroid user

Some consequences can persist even after you stop taking them​

Anabolic steroids—synthetic variations of the muscle-building hormone testosterone—won’t just shrink your balls, give you zits, or grow you some breasts: They might hurt your heart, too, new research from the journal Circulation reports.In the study, researchers recruited male weightlifters ages 34 to 54 who could currently, or in the past, bench press 275 pounds for at least one rep. After conducting screening interviews and analyzing their health histories, they were left with a group of 140 men: 86 guys who had a history of at least two years on anabolic steroids—67 percent of whom who were currently on them—and 54 who never touched the stuff. 
Roid users showed higher body mass indexes (BMI) and higher levels of fat-free mass than those who never took them, which wasn’t terribly surprising. But they also had higher blood pressure readings and levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol in their blood, too. (Here’s how to tell if someone’s on steroids.)
 And that wasn’t their only heart risk: After examining the men’s hearts using 2-D ultrasound imaging, the researchers discovered that 71 percent of those who were currently on steroids had impaired pumping power in their left ventricles. Off-drug users tended to have normal pumping capacity, and just two never-users had problems pumping.
But both current and ever-users showed problems in the diastolic functions of their hearts, or when the heart relaxes and fills with blood—suggesting a more permanent health problem that persists even if you’re not currently taking steroids, the researchers say. Plus, CT scans showed that length of steroid use was linked to greater plaque buildup in their arteries, potentially leading to earlier development of heart disease. Up to 4 million Americans have used anabolic steroids to build muscle, the study notes—and, as evidenced by the study, most are just regular, recreational lifters, not elite or professional athletes.  Bottom line: The side effects of steroids can be serious, and they can persist years after you stop taking them. http://www.menshealth.com/health/steroids-and-heart-problems