Enlarged Heart - Please help

[HamStuffer]

Early this year, I was diagnosed with something called Cardiomyopathy. It is an enlargement of the heart, specifically the left ventricle. I have a twin brother that does not use AS and he is fine. I have never used GH, only test, winny, dbol, deca, and so on... I have been using for 2 years, 4 cycles total. I had a heart attack last Sunday and it was not pretty. Can anybody tell me with confidence that AS does not cause the heart to grow? I want to eliminate AS as the cause of my problems. Anybody with knowledge of the heart would know something called Injection Fraction, and mine has gone down to 27%. It was 49% only 4 months ago. Please please help. The doctors that I have don't seem to have an answer for me.

 

[the_Pikey]

BUMP for Ham.

Best of luck to you bro.

 

[Lao Tzu]

Early this year, I was diagnosed with something called Cardiomyopathy. It is an enlargement of the heart, specifically the left ventricle. I have a twin brother that does not use AS and he is fine. I have never used GH, only test, winny, dbol, deca, and so on... I have been using for 2 years, 4 cycles total. I had a heart attack last Sunday and it was not pretty. Can anybody tell me with confidence that AS does not cause the heart to grow? I want to eliminate AS as the cause of my problems. Anybody with knowledge of the heart would know something called Injection Fraction, and mine has gone down to 27%. It was 49% only 4 months ago. Please please help. The doctors that I have don't seem to have an answer for me.

i found this




and the androgenic steroid induced cardiomyopathy

http://www.wits.ac.za/fac/med/physiol/cardpath.html


and this


Moreover, reports of complications associated with use of AASs as performance enhancing drugs among athletes may represent an important warning. Even though the incidence of these complications is unclear since the denominator of drug use in athletes is not well defined, the physiologic effects of virilization, irregular menses, and hirsutism in women and testicular atrophy and infertility in men are common.[17] Likewise, the risk of AAS-associated premature epiphyseal closure in teenaged users or reductions in serum high-density lipoprotein levels can have long-term consequences. Reports of CARDIOMYOPATHY,[18] hypercoagulation,[19] tendon tears, hepatocellular carcinoma,[20] psychiatric disorders, and sudden death[21] have been documented.

http://www.ama-assn.org/special/hiv/library/readroom/vol_281/ed90024x.htm

hope this helps bro
-Todd

 

[freshr1]

I don't know, but I'll bump it for ya. And some karma for you too. Hope it all works out.

If you don't mind me asking, what were your symptoms? Why did you first go to see your doc?

 

[HamStuffer]

I had severe abdominal pains, I mean SEVERE to the point I passed out and got sick, July 4th. They did not know what the cause was and I thought that I might have a kidney stone. They did a bunch of test and at that time, found that I had and enlarged heart. Along with the cardiomyopathy, I have enlarged arteries going to the heart, eschemia (lack of blood in the heart tissue), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, to name a few. There really were no symptoms and I would have never thought that AS would cause an enlarged heart. I have been fighting it ever since. The ejection fraction is the biggest concern right now. Normal people have an ejection fraction about 55%, that means 55% or more of the blood in the left ventricle gets ejected with each beat of the heart. Any lower is a concern. The thick left ventricle is the cause of the low ejection fraction. Only 27% of the blood gets pumped out. Scary shit.

 

[MuSuLPhReAk]

Man this is scary stuff....how old are you? Were your cycles long or normal length (8-10 weeks)? What do u do for a living...endurance runners tend to have that problem.

 

[Sexual Mustard]

Interesting note: the left ventricle has been found to be the only part of the heart to clearly show somewhat of a growth with vigorous excercise and conditioning in healthy humans--even without steroids.

 

[DocTodd]

Interesting note: the left ventricle has been found to be the only part of the heart to clearly show somewhat of a growth with vigorous excercise and conditioning in healthy humans--even without steroids.

Thats because the left ventricle is doing most of the work. Just like any other muscle, it will enlarge with more load.

As for your cardiomyopathy, it has been a proven complication in AS use. An ejection fraction of 70% is considered normal. Sometimes with valve problems, it can be corrected. The best way to see if any of your valves are affected is to get an ultrasound(echocardiogram). The bad news is that the only way to fix a valve is to replace it in an open heart surgery with a porcine valve(pig) or a plastic/synthetic valve. With plastic or synthetic valves you will need to take blood thinners for the rest of your life. With pig valves you will need to take antirejection meds for some time, but i dont know how long.

I did have a similar conversation on this board with someone else a few months back, but i havent seen them since....not a good sign.

You can live comfortably with an EF where you have it now, but EF's of less than 20-25% are usually associated with shortness of breath and difficulty with any exertion.

T

 

[HamStuffer]

My cycles were usaully 12 weeks or less in length. Most of them were 8 weeks. I did not overdue it on any of the steroids and kept them all with reasonable ranges (i.e. I did not take 100mg of Dbol to get big faster). Something to keep in mind for all the new guys/gals out there wanting to use this stuff. Atleast keep this in mind and get in checked out as your cycles go in length. Good luck to all out there.

 

[DocTodd]

Just an addition to my last post.....less than 10% ejection fraction is not compatible with life. With only 10% efficicency in pumping, your heart just cannot sustain adequate blood flow to the brain. Only treatment for this is a balloon pump temporarily inside the heart, and a heart transplant in the long run.


T