LEFT-VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IS NOT IMPAIRED IN WEIGHT-LIFTERS WHO USE ANABOLIC-STEROIDS

Recent reports suggest that anabolic steroid use might deleteriously affect left ventricular function. To examine this possibility, the present study measured left ventricular size and function with use of Doppler echocardiographic techniques in 23 weight lifters: 12 who were currently using anabolic steroids and 11 who reported that they had never used these drugs. Drug users had administered anabolic steroids to themselves for at least three cycles over the past year. All studies were interpreted by blind review and group assignment was confirmed by urine testing. Average age, years of exercise training and body weight, as well as heart rate and blood pressure at rest were similar in both groups. Cardiac dimensions (mean +/- SD) including left ventricular diastolic cavity diameter (57 +/- 3 vs. 56 +/- 5 mm), septal thickness (10 +/- 2 vs. 9 +/- 1 mm), posterior wall thickness (8 +/- 1 vs. 8 +/- 1 mm) and myocardial mass (149 +/- 27 vs. 135 +/- 21 g) did not differ between the anabolic steroid users and nonusers, respectively. Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function at rest were also similar in the users and nonusers: left ventricular fractional shortening (38 +/- 5% vs. 41 +/- 5%); peak rate of wall thickening (4.3 +/- 1.1 vs. 4 +/- 1.1 s-1) and thinning (-5.9 +/- 1.6 vs. -5.6 +/- 2.1 s-1); left ventricular filling rate (3.1 +/- 0.6 vs. 3.3 +/- 0.5 s-1), as well as early (81 +/- 12 vs. 83 +/- 12 cm/s) and atrial maximal inflow velocities (41 +/- 6 vs. 41 +/- 9 cm/s) and their ratio (2.01 +/- 0.49 vs. 2.16 +/- 0.67) were not different between groups. These results suggest that anabolic steroid use was not associated with left ventricular hypertrophy or clinically detectable systolic and diastolic dysfunction in a small sample of weight lifters who were using these drugs.