Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) have several adverse effects on the cardiovascular system that may lead to a sudden cardiac death (SCD).
Misuse of androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) has been well known to increase the risk for a cardiac problem, including acute myocardial infarction (MI).
Authors also found that steroid users had significantly more plaque build-up in their arteries than non-users. The longer men reported taking steroids, the worse their arteries were. Plaque build-up is a sign of heart disease, which is the No. 1 killer of men and women in the United States.
It's possible that anabolic steroids spark the activity of a certain enzyme in your liver that's responsible for increasing LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, while tamping down the good kind, says study author Francis Ribeiro de Souza, Ph. D. (c), of the Heart Institute of the Medicine School of the University of São Paulo.
Conclusion: Anabolic-androgenic steroid-induced advanced heart failure is generally not a reversible condition. If diagnosed in the early stages some recovery of ventricular function is possible, but the long-term prognosis is uncertain.
Low sodium diet helps reduce fluid accumulation and may help control blood pressure. Have your blood pressure monitored regularly while you are on steroids, especially if you have a history of high blood pressure. Steroids can raise blood pressure in some patients.
Fluid Retention and Heart Failure: One of the most common side effects of corticosteroids is fluid retention. For patients who have a medical condition that makes them sensitive to fluid overloads, such as heart failure, corticosteroids can worsen their condition.
If blood is prevented from reaching the heart or brain, the result can be a heart attack or stroke, respectively. Steroids also increase the risk that blood clots will form in blood vessels, potentially disrupting blood flow and damaging the heart muscle, so that it does not pump blood effectively.
Prednisone and other steroids can raise your clotting risk as well, especially at high doses. If you take any of these medications, be sure to talk to your doctor about how you can monitor your health.
Review of literature showed that there were 7 cases of ischemic stroke and one case of hemorrhagic stroke reported to be related to use of anabolic steroids. Graham et al. demonstrated that long term use of anabolic steroids elevates serum homocysteine level that leads to increased risk of ischemic stroke.
The misuse of anabolic steroids can cause long-term side effects. These can include cardiovascular complications, liver disease, reproductive organ damage and severe mood swings. Support is available for anabolic steroid users who want to change their dependence on these drugs.
The risks to the heart, blood vessels and brain are rarely discussed when starting prednisone but should be considered. Taking steroids not only raises blood pressure and blood sugar, but overall raises one's risk for heart attacks and strokes.
Some key drugs that interact with steroids include anticoagulants (such as warfarin), drugs for blood pressure, antiepileptics, antidiabetic drugs, antifungal drugs, bronchodilators (such as salbutamol) and diuretics.
After 1 year of treatment, patients taking less than 5 mg of prednisone had a twofold higher absolute risk of fatal and nonfatal CVD, including MI, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, cerebrovascular disease, PAD, and abdominal aortic aneurysm, when compared with individuals not taking oral glucocorticoids.
Anabolic steroids can induce an unfavorable enlargement and thickening of the left ventricle, which loses its diastolic properties with the mass increase [7]. AAS can also cause hypertension, dyslipidemia, and impaired fasting glucose [8].
Background High-dose (pulse) corticosteroid therapy has been associated with the development of atrial fibrillation. This association, however, is mainly based on case reports.
Some of the most common drugs that can lead to a stroke are cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamine. There are also certain prescription medications that can increase the risk of stroke, such as birth control pills, blood pressure medications and pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen.
Current use of oral corticosteroids increased the risk of recurrent PE (odds ratio [OR] = 3.74; 95% CI 2.04-6.87; p=0.02), compared with those who did not use oral corticosteroids.
6. Blood disorders. Anabolic steroid use increases stimulates the production of red blood cells and also increases the levels of haemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen) and haematocrit (the percentage of red blood cells in the blood).
Conclusions: Use of oral corticosteroids in patients on long-term warfarin therapy may result in a clinically significant interaction, which requires close INR monitoring and possible warfarin dose reduction.
Talk to your doctor right away if you have more than one of these symptoms while you are using this medicine: blurred vision, dizziness or fainting, a fast, irregular, or pounding heartbeat, increased thirst or urination, irritability, or unusual tiredness or weakness.