Anabolic Steroids and Weak Hearts

Long-term use of anabolic steroids appears to weaken heart more than previously thought.
The Los Angeles Times (4/27, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "Long-term use of anabolic steroids damages the heart more than researchers previously believed and could be setting up many users for heart disease and death," according to a new paper in Circulation: Heart Failure. "Previously known side effects of the drugs include liver tumors, jaundice, high blood pressure, shrinkage of the testicles, reduced sperm count, development of breasts, paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability and impaired judgment." But there have been those who have "also suggested an effect on the heart."
So, a Harvard-led team of investigators "enlisted 19 male weight lifters, including 12 who reported taking, on average, about 675 milligrams of steroids a week for nine years and nine who said they never used steroids," HealthDay (4/27, Edelson) reported. The "researchers used Doppler echocardiography, which uses ultrasound to generate moving pictures of the heart's size and function, to study the function of the each weight lifter's left ventricle."
A "healthy left ventricle pumps 55% to 70% of the blood that fills the heart," but 10 "of the 12 steroid users had ejection fractions of less than 55%, which has been linked to an increased risk for heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest," WebMD (4/27, Boyles) reported. Conversely, "only one of the seven weightlifters with no history of steroid use had a low ejection fraction." The "steroid users also showed evidence of impaired diastolic function."