Echocardiographic Findings in Power Athletes Abusing Anabolic Androgenic Steroids

: anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) abuse for improving physical appearance and performance in body builders are common and have been considered responsible for serious cardiovascular effect. Due to disagreement about cardiovascular side effects of these drugs in published articles, this case control study was designed to evaluate the echocardiographic finding in body builder athletes who are current and chronic abuser of these drugs. body builder athletes with continues sport for preceding two years and at least twice weekly training selected and divided into AAS abuser and non user and compared with age and BMI matched non athletic healthy volunteers(15 cases in each group). There was no significant difference in left ventricular size or function either systolic or diastolic in comparison of cases and control groups. The only difference was in diastolic size of septum and free wall but observed differences were only significant (P value=0.05) between first (athletic with AAS abuser) and third group (non athletic and nonuser). The difference between the above mentioned indexes were not significant between two groups of athletics. Observed differences in diastolic size of septum and free wall is in favor of that long term abuse of anabolic steroid results in accentuation of physiologic hypertrophy due to long term sport most probably due to higher rate pressure product. Furthermore long term abuse and supra pharmacologic doses does not have significant effect in size and left ventricular function.