Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan-Feb;22(1):77-81.
doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.07.001. Epub 2017 Jul 11.

Androgenic-anabolic steroids inhibited post-exercise hypotension: a case control study

Jefferson F C R Junior  1 , Alexandre S Silva  2 , Glêbia A Cardoso  2 , Valmir O Silvino  1 , Maria C C Martins  1 , Marcos A P Santos  3
Affiliations

Androgenic-anabolic steroids inhibited post-exercise hypotension: a case control study

Jefferson F C R Junior et al. Braz J Phys Ther. 2018 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Background: There is evidence of hypertensive effects caused by anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). A single exercise session promotes the acute reduction of blood pressure, but the effects of AAS on this phenomenon are unknown.

Objectives: To investigate the post-exercise blood pressure response in androgenic-anabolic steroid users.

Methods: Thirteen AAS users (23.9±4.3 years old) and sixteen controls (22.1±4.5 years old) performed a session of aerobic exercise. Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed before exercise and during a 60min post-exercise resting period. Repeated ANOVA measures were used to determine differences between the groups.

Results: While the control group had a significant reduction in post-exercise systolic blood pressure of up to 13.9±11.6mmHg at 40min, this phenomenon was limited among AAS users who reached a maximum of 6.2±11.5mmHg at 60min. The between groups comparison revealed significant higher post-exercise hypotension (PEH) for the control group at 30min (-12.9±14.1mmHg versus -2.9±7.6mmHg), 40min (-13.9±11.6mmHg versus -2.5±8.3mmHg), 50min (-13.9±13.9mmHg versus -5.0±7.9mmHg) and 60min (-12.5±12.8mmHg versus -6.2±11.5mmHg). There was no significant diastolic PEH in any of the groups.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated impaired systolic post-exercise hypotension as a new adverse effect of AAS usage.

Keywords: Anabolic agents; Blood pressure; Exercise; Movement; Physiological adaptation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic view of the exercise and evaluation protocol. BP, blood pressure; HR, heart rate; min, minutes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Behavior of the heart rate during the 60 min of post-exercise recovery. Data are presented as the means and standard deviation of the means. Response of the heart rate before and at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min post-exercise (○) control group (■) AAS group; *significant differences between groups (two-way repeated ANOVA measures, p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Variation in the systolic (panel A) and diastolic blood pressure (panel B) in relation to the resting blood pressure after one session of aerobic exercise. Data are the delta of the means and standard deviation. *Statistical within-group differences at every moment (two-way repeated ANOVA measures, p < 0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sagoe D., Molde H., Andreassen C.S., Torsheim T., Pallesen S. The global epidemiology of anabolic-androgenic steroid use: a meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis. Ann Epidemiol. 2014;24(5):383–398. - PubMed
    1. Marocolo M., Maior A.S., Katayama P.L. Anabolic steroid treatment induces cardiac autonomic dysfunction in rats: time-course of heart rate variability. Am J Biomed Eng. 2013;3(3):54–62.
    1. Santos M.A.P., Oliveira C.V.C., Silva A.S. Adverse cardiovascular effects from the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids as ergogenic resources. Subst Use Misuse. 2014;49(9):1132–1137. - PubMed
    1. Cunha T.S., Tanno A.P., Costa Sampaio Moura M.J., Marcondes F.K. Influence of high-intensity exercise training and anabolic androgenic steroid treatment on rat tissue glycogen content. Life Sci. 2005;77(9):1030–1043. - PubMed
    1. Marcon E.R., Gus I., Neumann C.R. Impact of a minimum program of supervised exercises in the cardiometabolic risk in patients with morbid obesity. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2011;55(5):331–338. - PubMed

MeSH terms