| Generally you're as young as your heart and
brain, which largely depends on how good the circulation is to these two vital organs. When HRT for women was first cautiously introduced over 30 years
ago, doctors feared it might contribute to diseases of the blood vessels, and if a
menopausal woman had even a family history of heart trouble, let alone cardiac disease
herself, they said HRT was not for her. Much to their surprise, actual experience has
shown the reverse to be true. Women on HRT suffered half the number of heart attacks
compared to women who were not. So, with some reluctance, doctors have begun to change
their tack and now generally say the treatment is positively indicated in women prone to
heart disease.
The situation is the same with testosterone. Over the last
50 years, most doctors, including cardiologists, have taken the view that testosterone
must be bad for the heart for two totally fallacious reasons.
First, under the age of 50, men get five times as many
heart attacks as women in most Western countries, though the women catch up soon after
that age unless they are on HRT. According to this line of reasoning, therefore,
testosterone is bad for the circulation and oestrogen is good.
Secondly, as already explained, because of the uniquely bad
effects of the most commonly used preparation taken by mouth, methyl testosterone, and its
abuse by athletes taking the wrong drugs in the wrong doses for the wrong reasons,
anabolic steroids have had a very bad medical and lay press. The experience of Dr Jens
Moller’s Clinic in Copehagen, now lead by Dr. Michael Hansen, President of the
European Organisation for the Control of Circulatory Diseases (EOCCD) is that testosterone
is a very important and beneficial hormone for preventing and treating heart and
circulatory problems.
Several studies have more recently shown lower levels of
testosterone, and sometimes higher levels of oestrogen, in patients who later developed
heart disease, than in normal control subjects the same age. Also it has been found that
testosterone can prevent the type of spasm of the coronary arteries which causes angina.
Other studies have shown the benefits of testosterone and related compounds in treating a
range of circulatory problems from ulcers on the feet to strokes in the brain. More
recently, the Danish group have demonstrated how testosterone can prevent the development
of heart disease in experimental animals on high cholesterol diets.
For further information on the benefits of testosterone to
the heart and circulation contact Dr Michael Hansen, EOCCD President, CPH Cardiovascular
Clinic, Esplanaden 34, B, Copehagen, DENMARK DK-1263.
Also we will try to keen you up to date with the exciting
new work in this field as part of the Andropause Society Service.
back to top |
