Cardiovascular Toxicity of Illicit Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Millions of individuals have used illicit anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), but the long-term cardiovascular associations of these drugs remain incompletely understood.

Methods

Using a cross-sectional cohort design, we recruited 140 experienced male weightlifters 34 to 54 years of age, comprising 86 men reporting ≥2 years of cumulative lifetime AAS use and 54 nonusing men. Using transthoracic echocardiography and coronary computed tomography angiography, we assessed 3 primary outcome measures: left ventricular (LV) systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction), LV diastolic function (early relaxation velocity), and coronary atherosclerosis (coronary artery plaque volume).

Results

Compared with nonusers, AAS users demonstrated relatively reduced L

SUBMITTER: Baggish AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5614517 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature