Friday, January 3, 2014
Testosterone Therapy Linked With Adverse CVD Events
DENVER, CO — The use of testosterone therapy in men is associated with an increased risk of death, MI, or ischemic stroke, according to the results of a new study[1]. The increased risk, which was about 30% higher in men treated with testosterone than in those who did not receive it, was observed in a cohort of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients with multiple comorbidities undergoing coronary angiography.
"We found an association; it's not causal, given the observational nature of the study," senior investigator Dr Michael Ho (Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver) told heartwire . "It does provide some evidence that testosterone therapy may be associated with some increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. For patients who are starting therapy or who are currently on therapy, this might warrant a discussion with their physicians about the potential benefits of the therapy vs the potential risk. I think that decision should be individualized for each patient."
Read the full Medscape report
