Long-term application of steroids is dangerous for heart

Prolonged usage of anabolic steroids can lead to various heart disorders. It increases risks connected with heart failure. These affirmations have been made due to a study which has been written in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids work like the hormone testosterone that occurs naturally and that is responsible for development of male sex characteristics.
The leader of the study Aaron L. Baggish states that in addition to the fact that anabolic steroids are illegal, they are connected with negative effects for health. He notices that it is the first time, when negative effect of prolonged application of steroids on heart is clearly recognized.
The study manifested that the left ventricle in steroid users was substantially weaker during contraction than in those that didn’t take steroids.
A left ventricle which acts appropriately pumps out 55-70 % of the blood that fills the heart.
 12 steroid users were implicated in the study. It was manifested that the left ventricles of 83 % these steroid users acted incorrectly: they pumped out less than 55 % of the blood.   Among the examined non-users just one person experienced problems related to the function of the left ventricle.
The study displayed that ventricle relaxation among consumers of steroids was reduced by about half. It was 0, 93 among consumers of steroids; 1, 80 – among non-users. The structure of the left ventricle was similar in both groups: steroid users and non-users.
It was used the method “Doppler echocardiography” for examination 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 claimed that they took approximately 675 mg of steroids a week for 9 years. Another group included weightlifters that didn’t apply steroids. Both groups had the same physical activity and the same risks linked with heart problems. But they had differences in body weight and muscle size. The consumers of steroids had more muscular physiques.
However small number of steroid users has been evaluated, the results have manifested that there is a close connection between administration of steroids and heart impairment.
The experts decided to conduct further researches in order to support the findings.
Baggish and his colleagues think that people will recognize that intake of steroids can cause heart troubles and different unexplained heart dysfunctions in young people.