Steroids and the heart?

[C-Rock455]

Steroids and the heart?
I normally don't buy into the bullshit I hear, but in the book Optimum Sports Nutrition, DR. Michael Colgan wrote" Steroids can pathologically enlarge the heart. Their is strong evidence that they thicken the left ventricle and change the function of the heart to predispose you to a heart attack. I am citing the recent studies because some people have suggested that weight training itself thickens the heart. So it does, but not in a pathalogical way in which the left ventrical grows bigger and thicker, and can no longer function in a proper rhythm with the right ventrical. That's purely a steroid effect."

Also, what exactaly was wrong with Arnold a while back?

I've been juicing for a while, I feel like this is probably bullshit, but I would like someone with some knowledge to explain this to me.

 

[CanadianBro]

There is no doubt about it. Long term steroid use will have
negative effects on the heart and cardivascular system. Whether
or not the heart will actually enlarge is up for debate however
there are significant dangers.

 

[nlischi]

A friend of mine, a forensic doctor, in an attempt to discourage me from taking the juice, told me that she has performed autopsies on several athletes who died of heart attack, they were on juice. The last one, she said, was a 22year guy who died while doing cardio, and she said his heart was huge.

 

[C-Rock455]

I've always heard the heart did not have androgenic receptor cites like other muscles and only GH could enlarge the heart.

 

[PBR]

The heart contains the no.1 receptor sites for AAS, apparently it has obviously a very high affinity for those molecules and hence enlarges.....Iam sure someone else could elaborate on this topic.

 

[celica]

ithough it does not effect cardiac muscle>>>>>>>

 

[Spidey]

The heart is not made of smooth muscle like some seem to think. It is composed of striated muscle very similar to skeletal muscle. It has AS receptors and long term use could indeed lead to enlargement.

-Spidey

 

[tyhigs]

even without AAS, weightlifting on its own increases the size of the left ventricle.non aas using lifters and AAS users were both in the same upper normal range in one study. I'm too lazy to search for it. but it's out there.

 

[toughdawg]

I probably do two cycles a year- i'm sure there are people that do a lot more then that. What would be considered excess amounts?

 

[Rio 2001]

Structural changes are not the only concern relating Heart/AAS, as blood pressure and atherogenesis can play a major role in inducing CV disease in the AS user.However, to my knowledge, those are time/dose/type of AS/genetic predisposition dependent, and mostly controlable and reversible.

Some ref on what you asked:


AASs may induce changes in the structure of the heart. Cardiac hypertrophy and resulting dysfunction can result. Echocardiographic studies have shown that AASs can induce an unfavorable enlargement and thickening of the left ventricle, which loses its diastolic properties with the mass increase. The changes tended to persist following a short period of drug withdrawal. [17] Competitive heavyweight bodybuilders using AASs were found to have concentric increases in left ventricular wall thickness and decreased ventricular compliance compared with controls. Despite these changes, however, they had no evidence of diastolic dysfunction. [19] In a study comparing AAS users when they were "on-cycle" (using AASs) to when they were "off-cycle" (not using AASs) showed that left ventricular mass and interventricular septum thickness were greater during AAS use. [83] In another study, no significant difference was found in left ventricular diastolic cavity diameter, septal thickness, posterior wall thickness, and myocardial mass between a group of AAS weightlifters and matched controls. [99]

The cause of the structural changes is unclear. Endomyocardial biopsy of AAS users has revealed increased fibrosis in the myocardium in some users. [71] Animal studies of the combination of endurance training with AAS use have shown increased activity of lysosomal hydrolytic enzymes in the heart. [97]

 

[ArnoldColeman]

I probably do two cycles a year- i'm sure there are people that do a lot more then that. What would be considered excess amounts?

thats all i do also

 

[Lumberg]

even without AAS, weightlifting on its own increases the size of the left ventricle.non aas using lifters and AAS users were both in the same upper normal range in one study. I'm too lazy to search for it. but it's out there.

can you at least point us in the right direction with that? it's important info.

 

[cbeaks]

So would you suggest doing higher repetition when doing heart exercises and stop doing heart site injections? - cbeaks

 

[aussiebound]

A buddy of mine blew up from 190-270 in a year. He got so big and heavy he could barely walk up the stairs w/o a push. He had a mild heart attack at 21 and it was do to a thickened heart

 

[cbeaks]

Would a high pulse be an indication of a thickened heart? - cbeaks

 

[C-Rock455]

So this means if you monitor your blood pressure and your systolic and diastolic remain in proper preportion to one another then you should have nothing to worry about? Right!