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
Review
. 2023 Oct;25(10):1157-1163.
doi: 10.1007/s11886-023-01935-1. Epub 2023 Sep 21.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease: Balancing Safety and Risks in Hypogonadal Men

Affiliations
Review

Testosterone Replacement Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease: Balancing Safety and Risks in Hypogonadal Men

Kelli Blackwell et al. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to analyze the link between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and adverse cardiovascular (CV) events. RECENT FINDINGS: A few published studies suggest a link between TRT and CV events. These studies contained flaws, and many other studies reveal a reduction in CV events. Hypogonadism is associated with increased mortality in men with CVD. TRT in hypogonadal men can improve many CVD risk factors, reduce QT interval prolongation, lead to better outcomes in heart failure patients, and slow the progression of atherosclerosis. The use of TRT to achieve physiologic testosterone concentrations in men does not pose a threat to CV health and has demonstrated a cardioprotective effect.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Heart; Hypogonadal men; Myocardial infarction; Testosterone; Testosterone replacement therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
    1. • Togun A, Sankar A, Karaca-Mandic P. FDA safety warnings and trends in testosterone marketing to physicians. 2022;28 The FDA modification of testosterone labels in 2015 to indicate increased risk of stroke and heart attack still exists despite many studies indicating that there is not increased risk.
    1. Basaria S, Coviello AD, Travison TG, et al. Adverse events associated with testosterone administration. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:109–22. - PubMed - PMC - DOI
    1. Vigen R, O’Donnell CI, Barón AE, et al. Association of testosterone therapy with mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke in men with low testosterone levels. JAMA. 2013;310:1829–36. - PubMed - DOI
    1. Finkle WD, Greenland S, Ridgeway GK, Adams JL, Frasco MA, Cook MB, Fraumeni JF, Hoover RN. Increased Risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction following testosterone therapy prescription in men. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e85805. - PubMed - PMC - DOI
    1. Xu L, Freeman G, Cowling BJ, Schooling CM. Testosterone therapy and cardiovascular events among men: a systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized trials. BMC Med. 2013;11:108. - PubMed - PMC - DOI

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources