Is Testosterone safe for women and men with a history of a previous heart attack or congestive heart failure?
Years of successful Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) in men and women with heart disease suggests it is safe, however, no long term studies have been done.
Testosterone is shown to keep cardiac arteries dilated around the heart by inducing the release of nitric oxide. Open arteries provide more oxygen to heart tissue reducing the risk of heart attack.
Dr. Edward Friedman, PhD, author of the book, How You and Your Doctor Can Fight Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer and Alzheimer’s, states, “High hormone levels are necessary for the maintenance of optimal health.”
He continues, “In addition to fighting many diseases of aging, sex hormones have a beneficial impact on cardiac and vascular health, cognition, psychological well-being, energy, sex drive, motivation and body fat.”
Additionally, Drs. Rebecca Glaser and Constantine Dimitrakakis, authors of the article, Beneficial effects of testosterone therapy in women measured by the validated Menopause Rating Scale(MRS,) state that women who experience sexual dysfunction, dysphoric mood, lack of well-being, fatigue, memory loss, insomnia, hot flashes and incontinence are often low in bioavailable testosterone and show improvement when testosterone is replaced.
But can TRT change the course of cardiovascular disease in women and men?
Dr. Giuseppe Rosano, MD, PhD, Italian University Professor and researcher, was the first to question if TRT would be beneficial to women with severe congestive heart failure. He published his findings in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) in 2010.
In Dr. Rosano’s study, 36 women with severe congestive heart failure were treated with testosterone and put through objective exercise testing. Results showed increased exercise performance, muscle strength and lean body mass which translates to improved quality of life.
Dr. Rosano states, “Testosterone is anabolic (grows muscle) and maximizes muscle development during exercise. It prevents cachexia.”
Dr. Anthony DeMaria, MD, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, concludes that there is accumulating evidence that testosterone replacement may be of benefit in men and women with cardiac disease.
Dr. Abraham Morganthaler, MD, clinical professor of urology at Harvard Medical School published a review entitled, Testosterone Therapy and Cardiovascular Risk: Advances and Controversies.
His evaluation of the current literature revealed clear evidence that testosterone deficiency is associated with higher levels of heart disease and mortality. Restoring testosterone levels to normal resulted in a decrease in mortality by half in several small randomized controlled trials.
In men with known heart disease, testosterone showed functional improvement.
Russ Scala, director of the Institute of Nutritional Medicine and Cardiovascular Research Center, states, “Forty thousand women die of breast cancer each year while 500,000 women die of sudden cardiac death but nobody talks about it.” He notes that hormone levels and nutrition play a big role in heart disease.
Decades of strong evidence suggests that restoring low testosterone levels to normal in women and men with heart disease is beneficial to their overall health and well being.
Since 2012, Integrative Medicine of Idaho has been providing safe and effective Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy including transdermal and pellet delivery systems.
If you are not experiencing your optimal quality of life and want to know more about how to feel good again, call IMI at 208-841-6382 and schedule an appointment.