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Testosterone:
Friend or foe?
Men have a higher rate of cardiovascular disease than do women and are more likely to have a heart attack at an earlier age. Some experts suspect that testosterone, a male hormone, could be to blame. They have reason to think that testosterone increases cardiac risk by lowering high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol levels, raising blood pressure, and promoting formation of blood clots.
The picture is far from clear, however, because many men with coronary artery disease have low levels of testosterone. What’s more, treating testosterone deficiency sometimes relieves angina (chest pain associated with coronary artery disease). Now, the results of a new study suggest that testosterone may actually protect heart muscle from damage caused by low blood flow.
Improved exercise test results
Italian investigators took 14 men who had heart disease off their normal angina medications and gave them an exercise stress test. They repeated the test on 2 other days: one time, 30 minutes after the men were given testosterone intravenously and another time after they were given a placebo (an inactive substance) intravenously.
After receiving testosterone, the men could run longer on the treadmill before developing chest pain or showing signs on an electrocardiogram (ECG) that the heart was no longer receiving an adequate supply of blood. Although all the men did better after receiving testosterone, those who had had the lowest levels of the hormone to begin with showed the greatest improvement in symptoms.
These findings could mean that testosterone improves blood flow by relaxing coronary arteries. Whether the pluses of testosterone therapy outweigh the minuses remains to be seen. Still, the results raise the possibility that testosterone—a hormone so often considered a foe—might prove to be a valuable friend to men with coronary artery disease.
From Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association
Published: Sep/Oct 2000
Article top Heart Care
Friend or foe?
Men have a higher rate of cardiovascular disease than do women and are more likely to have a heart attack at an earlier age. Some experts suspect that testosterone, a male hormone, could be to blame. They have reason to think that testosterone increases cardiac risk by lowering high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol levels, raising blood pressure, and promoting formation of blood clots.
The picture is far from clear, however, because many men with coronary artery disease have low levels of testosterone. What’s more, treating testosterone deficiency sometimes relieves angina (chest pain associated with coronary artery disease). Now, the results of a new study suggest that testosterone may actually protect heart muscle from damage caused by low blood flow.
Improved exercise test results
Italian investigators took 14 men who had heart disease off their normal angina medications and gave them an exercise stress test. They repeated the test on 2 other days: one time, 30 minutes after the men were given testosterone intravenously and another time after they were given a placebo (an inactive substance) intravenously.
After receiving testosterone, the men could run longer on the treadmill before developing chest pain or showing signs on an electrocardiogram (ECG) that the heart was no longer receiving an adequate supply of blood. Although all the men did better after receiving testosterone, those who had had the lowest levels of the hormone to begin with showed the greatest improvement in symptoms.
These findings could mean that testosterone improves blood flow by relaxing coronary arteries. Whether the pluses of testosterone therapy outweigh the minuses remains to be seen. Still, the results raise the possibility that testosterone—a hormone so often considered a foe—might prove to be a valuable friend to men with coronary artery disease.
From Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association
Published: Sep/Oct 2000
Article top Heart Care
