Functions of heart are destroyed by prolonged usage of steroids

Prolonged application of anabolic steroids may cause different heart diseases. It enhances risks connected with 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 act like the hormone testosterone which occurs naturally and which is responsible for development of male sex characteristics.
The leader of the research Aaron L. Baggish says that in addition to the factor that anabolic steroids are illegal, they are associated with negative effects for health. He notes that it is the first time, when negative influence of long-term application of steroids on heart is clearly recognized.
The research demonstrated that the left ventricle in steroid users was substantially weaker during contraction than in those that didn’t administer steroids.
A left ventricle that works properly pumps out 55-70 % of the blood which fills the heart.
 12 steroid users were implicated in the study. It was demonstrated that the left ventricles of 83 % these steroid users acted inappropriately: they pumped out less than 55 % of the blood.   Among the examined non-users just one person had disorders related to the function of the left ventricle.
The study demonstrated that ventricle relaxation among users 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 the same in both groups: users of steroids and non-users.
It was applied the test “Doppler echocardiography” for examination of function and structure of the left ventricle. This test uses ultrasound for creation of moving pictures of the heart and its blood flow.
 The group of steroid users included twelve weightlifters at the age of about 40 that noted that they administered approximately 675 mg of steroids a week for 9 years. The other group included weightlifters who didn’t use steroids. Both groups had similar physical activity and similar risks related to heart disorders. But they had differences in body weight and muscle size. The users of steroids had more muscular physiques.
However small number of steroid users has been included in the study, the results have shown that there is a strong link between administration of steroids and heart impairment.
The specialists decided to conduct further studies in order to support the findings.
Baggish and his colleagues think that people will realize that intake of steroids may cause heart troubles and various unexplained heart dysfunctions in young people.