Dysfunctions of heart and prolonged steroid use

Prolonged administration of anabolic steroids may cause different heart dysfunctions. It enhances risks related to heart failure. These affirmations have been made due to a research which has been presented in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids work like testosterone that occurs naturally and which is responsible for development of male sex characteristics.
The leader of the study Aaron L. Baggish confirms that in addition to the fact that anabolic steroids are illicit, they are associated with negative effects for health. He notes that it is the first time, when negative influence of prolonged administration of steroids on heart is clearly recognized.
The research demonstrated that the left ventricle in steroid users was essentially weaker during contraction than in those that didn’t take steroids.
A left ventricle which works properly pumps out 55-70 % of the blood that fills the heart.
 12 steroid users were implicated in the study. It was displayed that the left ventricles of 83 % these steroid users worked incorrectly: they pumped out less than 55 % of the blood.   Among the examined non-users only one person had problems related to the function of the left ventricle.
The study demonstrated that ventricle relaxation among steroid users was reduced by about half. It was 0, 93 among consumers of steroids; 1, 80 – among non-steroid users. The structure of the left ventricle was the same in both groups: consumers of steroids and non-users.
It was used the test “Doppler echocardiography” for evaluation of function and structure of the left ventricle. This technique uses ultrasound for creation of moving pictures of the heart and its blood flow.
 The group of steroid users included 12 weightlifters at the age of about 40 that noted that they applied about 675 mg of steroids a week for 9 years. The other group included weightlifters that didn’t use steroids. Both groups had similar physical activity and the same risks connected with heart problems. But they had differences in body weight and muscle size. The users of steroids had more muscular appearance.
Although small number of steroid users has been included in the research, the results have demonstrated that there is a close connection between usage of steroids and heart impairment.
The specialists decided to conduct further researches in order to support the results of this research.
Baggish and his colleagues suggest that people will comprehend that usage of steroids can results in heart troubles and different unexplained heart disorders in young persons.