If a person uses steroids prolonged time, he/she has high risks related to heart disorders

Prolonged administration of anabolic steroids may result in various heart diseases. It increases dangers linked with heart failure. These statements have been noted in a study that has been presented in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids act like the hormone testosterone which occurs naturally and that is responsible for development of male sex characteristics.
The leader of the research Aaron L. Baggish states that in addition to the factor that anabolic steroids are illegal, they are linked with undesirable consequences for health. He notices that it is the first time, when negative influence of prolonged usage of steroids on heart is clearly realized.
The study manifested that the left ventricle in consumers of steroids was substantially weaker during contraction than in those that didn’t administer steroids.
A left ventricle that acts appropriately pumps out 55-70 % of the blood that fills the heart.
 12 users of steroids were enrolled in the study. It was displayed that the left ventricles of 83 % these steroid users acted incorrectly: they pumped out less than 55 % of the blood.   Among the examined non-users just one person suffered from problems connected with the function of the left ventricle.
The study demonstrated that ventricle relaxation among steroid users was lowered by about half. It was 0, 93 among consumers of steroids; 1, 80 – among non-steroid users. The structure of the left ventricle was the same in both groups: steroid users and non-users.
It was used 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 12 weightlifters at the age of about 40 that said that they took about 675 mg of steroids a week for 9 years. Another group included weightlifters that didn’t take steroids. Both groups had similar physical activity and the same risks connected with heart troubles. But they had differences in body mass and muscle size. The users of steroids had more muscular appearance.
However small number of steroid users has been included in the research, the results have shown that there is a strong connection between administration of steroids and heart impairment.
The scientists decided to conduct further researches in order to support the findings.
Baggish and his co-investigators think that people will realize that intake of steroids may results in heart problems and various unexplained heart dysfunctions in young persons.