Breaking News: Chronic Steroid Use May Damage the Heart

The possible long-term effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) have been a question mark among bodybuilders since the drugs became more widely used in the 1980s. New research from Massachusetts General Hospital, published in the journal Circulation, indicates that long-term use of AAS could cause “impairments in heart function” and lead to coronary artery disease.

The new study, co-authored by Aaron Baggish, M.D., associate director of the cardiovascular performance program at Massachusetts General Hospital, found that long-term use of AAS may reduce the heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body. Long-term AAS use also damages the heart’s ability to relax, and may cause atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.

Researchers studied 140 male weightlifters, 86 who used anabolic steroids and 54 non-users. Using two-dimensional ultrasound imaging, the researchers found that the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber, was significantly weaker during contraction (systolic function) in those taking anabolic steroids compared to the non-steroid users. The researchers also established a link between AAS use and coronary artery disease, finding “strong associations” between long-term, illicit AAS use and the amount of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries. Baggish said that clinicians should consider possible illicit anabolic steroid use when treating men with premature coronary artery disease.

“Compared to non-users, anabolic steroid users displayed both higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as a higher prevalence of levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol in their blood,” Baggish said. (Circulation 2017;135:1991-2002; originally published May 22, 2017)

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