By Dr. Richard Chern, MD
Some patients and doctors ask us about testosterone and its effects on the heart. Many patients (and some doctors) are mistakenly under the impression that testosterone increases the risk of heart problems. This article will hopefully dispel these myths and explain how they came about.
There have been hundreds of studies looking at testosterone’s effects on the heart and they are all reassuring. The Mayo Clinic has even reviewed every study to come up with recommendations based on the review of all studies involving testosterone. Their findings agree, testosterone is good for the heart.
Studies show low testosterone is associated with increased mortality from any cause. Low testosterone is associated with increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol, increased heart attacks, increased aggressiveness of prostate cancer, increased Alzheimer’s, increased diabetes, and the list goes on.
As we increase testosterone, we can reduce death and disease across the board. So how did testosterone get a bad image. There are a couple reasons.
First, you need to know there are different types of testosterone. Testosterone shots are synthetic and because of this they react differently in the body from our natural testosterone. Think of your car. 87 octane, 93 octane and diesel are not the same and putting the wrong one in your car can cause major damage. The same is true when you put synthetic testosterone in your body instead of bio-identical testosterone. Clotting factors increase when using synthetic testosterone which can lead to stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolisms and more.
Second, testosterone entered the news because of early deaths and aggression in bodybuilders. These negative results were due to the use of synthetic testosterone in doses up to 20x higher than the natural amounts found in our body. As we all know, too much of a good thing can be bad.
I would never recommend the use of synthetic testosterone even in physiologic doses. But bio-identical testosterone has the exact same chemical structure as our own body. This means we are putting the right kind of gas in the tank and we are not overfilling the tank.
This physiologic dose reduces the risk of disease across the board and makes patients feel fantastic. Testosterone helps with mood, concentration, libido, decreases depression, anxiety and pain and more. I find it crazy that people are afraid of it.
Go to www.mayoclinicproceedings.org and search for “fundamental testosterone.” Read the International Expert Consensus Resolutions on the use of testosterone from June 2016. See for yourself that among the top experts on the planet who have read every study on testosterone, they believe “evidence does not support increased risks of cardiovascular events,” and “does not support increased risk of prostate cancer with T therapy.” They also believe that testosterone therapy can improve “cardiometabolic disease, including diabetes”
Feel better, less disease, live longer. Why would anyone not consider this?
Dr. Richard Chern, MD has been treating patients with hormones for nearly 30 years. He has training specific to the use of testosterone in both men and women and is currently accepting new patients. Call for an appointment today at (850) 837-1271.
