Testosterone Supplements Help Heart Failure Patients Exercise More And Breathe Better

Heart failure patients who take testosterone supplements may find they breathe better and are able to do more exercise, researchers from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, reported in Circulation Heart Failure. The authors had gathered data on four randomized human studies of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure. They had been administered testosterone supplements by gel, patch or injection.

The results of the four studies showed that participants who had been given testosterone supplements had a 50% higher score in a six-minute walking test, compared to those on placebo. Buy Moduretic tabs online without prescription

The authors also found that 35% of patients on testosterone supplements had a 1 to 2 grade improvement in their condition, according to the New York Heart Association classification, versus just 9.8% among those not on the supplements.

Testosterone therapy helped patients gain muscle mass and skeletal endurance rapidly; a gain that persisted for at least 12 months.

Author Justin A. Ezekowitz, M.D., M.Sc., said:

"The improvement in exercise capacity was consistent across all of the studies. Compared to patients in placebo groups, the differences were striking."

Larger trials are required, which could confirm these findings, before testosterone supplements could be recommended for heart failure patients, the researchers explained. This therapy targets skeletal muscle rather than cardiac muscle.

84% of the 198 patients in the studies were male. Their average age was 67 years. One of the studies focused entirely on adult females, who were given lower doses of testosterone than males - the participants in this study also experienced similar benefits.

In none of the four studies were any significant adverse events reported, including exercise- or treatment-related cardiovascular events. No increased rates in prostate cancer or prostate-related conditions were reported either.

Ezekowitz said:

"We don't want patients and their loved ones rushing to buy testosterone supplements online, or physicians to misinterpret the findings. First the results need to be corroborated in large clinical trials."