Researchers found out that men being treated with testosterone therapy have a lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and other causes of mortality in men.
In an article in Medical News Today, the study regarding the link between testosterone therapy and heart attack risk can be found in the European heart Journal.
The study was done with men documented with low levels of testosterone aged 50 and above who received treatment from Veterans' Affairs medical facilities from 1994 and 2014.
More than 83,000 patients from the database of Veterans Affairs were included. The patients were also divided into three groups.
- Group 1: Men who were treated until their testosterone levels returned to normal
- Group 2: Men who were treated whose testosterone levels did not return to normal
- Group 3: Men who did not receive testosterone replacement treatment whose levels remained low
The researchers made sure that all the men included in the study was under the same criteria and had no history of heart attack or stroke. Patients with heart disease were also included in the study.
An average follow-up period ranged from 4.6 to 6.2 years.
After the follow-up checkup, significant difference can be found in the results of men from group 1 and group 3. Men in group 1, who received testosterone therapy and regained normal testosterone levels were 56% less likely to die, 24% less likely to have a heart attack, and 36% less likely to have a stroke compared to men in group 3, who has low testosterone levels and did not receive any testosterone therapy.
The researchers also found out that men who were treated with testosterone therapy that did not regain normal testosterone levels, did not experience the same benefits of risk reduction from heart attack and stroke. This meant that those who underwent testosterone therapy and regained normal testosterone levels were the only ones that had a reduced risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
