Infarct prevention Testosterone therapy can protect men from strokes and heart attacks

Study tests the effects of testosterone on cardiovascular events
Testosterone therapy can help prevent the risks of serious cardiovascular events. Physicians found in an investigation that this therapy could be a way to prevent strokes and heart attacks in elderly men with coronary heart disease. Thus, treatment with testosterone could save many lives every year worldwide.

When older men undergo testosterone therapy, their risk of cardiovascular events decreases. Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute found out in a study that testosterone can protect people from strokes and heart attacks. The physicians presented the results of their study at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session.

Researchers found that testosterone can protect older men from heart attacks and strokes. Thus, testosterone could significantly reduce the cardiovascular risk of these people. (Image: Glebstock / fotolia.com)

Testosterone supplements protect against serious cardiovascular disease
When patients received testosterone in their follow-up treatment, they were much better off than patients who did not receive testosterone therapy. In such patients, the probability was increased by about 80 percent, unwanted negative events to suffer, say the medical profession. For their study, the researchers studied 755 men aged 58 to 78 years. These patients all suffered from severe coronary heart disease. The subjects were divided into different groups. The first group received testosterone injections, one received a testosterone gel, the other received a placebo gel. Different doses of testosterone were used in the groups, the researchers explain. After one year, 64 of the patients who had not received any testosterone supplements suffered serious adverse cardiovascular events. There were only 12 cases of such disease in people taking moderate doses of testosterone. When patients took high doses of testosterone, their risk seemed to be even lower. In this group, there were only nine major cardiovascular diseases, the experts add.

Researchers are studying three groups of volunteers for their cardiovascular risk
Three years later, 125 subjects in the testosterone-free group had severe, adverse, cardiovascular events. These values ​​were lower in the other two groups. In the middle dose, only 38 patients had similar problems, say the doctors. Only 22 subjects with a high dose of testosterone suffered serious cardiovascular disease. Men with coronary heart disease could actually be protected by the use of testosterone. Brent Muhlestein from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute. If the test subjects did not take testosterone, they would increase their chances of suffering a heart attack, stroke, or even cardiovascular death in the next three years by about 80 percent, the researchers explain.

In the future, testosterone could protect older men from heart disease
Although the study showed that older men with coronary artery disease could actually be protected by taking testosterone, the study is only an observational study, says Dr. Mill stone. This does not contain sufficient evidence to modify current treatments. A randomized clinical trial was needed to confirm or disprove the study's findings, adds the physician. However, the study confirms the findings of an older study from 2015. In this study, scientists found that taking additional testosterone does not increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke if they previously had low testosterone levels and no existing heart disease. (As)