Anabolic Steroids are man-made or synthetic substances that stimulate male sex hormones like testosterone. These are also known as Anabolic Androgenic Steroids or (AAS). Anabolic means tissue or muscle building, and androgen means increased male sexual characteristics.
Anabolic steroids are consumed by bodybuilders and athletes to boost their energy levels or increase body/muscle mass. They are also used by some people whose bodies do not produce enough testosterone, which is necessary for a body.
Usually, it is used by athletes and bodybuilders for the following purposes:
For Medical purposes:
Anabolic steroids play a role in anabolism in your body. That’s why they are called anabolic steroids. Anabolism means building up of small molecules together into a bigger compound.
The compounds of anabolic steroids are broken down into small, simpler molecules that go into your cells. These molecules bind together with androgen receptors. Androgen receptors are formed to accept testosterone that runs in your body. These substances act like natural testosterone in the body. So, they are easily accepted by androgen receptors.
When these androgen receptors are activated, they start performing their functions. They start synthesizing more protein in your body. The increased rate of protein synthesis results in the building of new tissues and muscles. In this manner, your muscles get bigger very fast. These muscles get stronger and grow faster than normal persons.
Must Read: What are SARMs (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators)?
The side effects of Anabolic steroids are long-term or lifetime. They can be normal if you stop using them but cannot reach their normal condition. And some of them are persistent and can never change throughout life.
Useful post: What is being done to combat Anabolic steroid abuse?
Anabolic steroids have a long list of side effects on the human body. It has more side effects than its uses. These anabolic steroids have a huge impact on your heart and blood cells.
Lipid Profile – Heart disease or cardiovascular disease is one of the main diseases caused by consuming anabolic steroids. These steroids decrease HDL (good cholesterol) and increase the body's LDL (bad cholesterol) rate. The changes in lipid profiles cause the hardening or thickening of arteries. The thick arteries cause heart stroke or heart attack, angina, and can cause sudden death by heart failure.
CPR – The use of anabolic steroids also causes an increase in CPR (C-reactive protein) in the body. Due to the increased rate of CPR, various cardiovascular diseases are caused.
Left Ventricular Hypertrophy – The constant use of anabolic steroids can cause left ventricular hypertrophy. It enlarges and thickens the walls of the heart. It decreases the pumping of the heart as the heart becomes non-elastic and requires too much force to pump. The heart becomes bigger and inelastic and can cause heart failure.
Read More: Use Bodybuilding Supplements Instead of Anabolic Steroids
High Blood Pressure – The drugs can cause high blood pressure, which can cause various cardiovascular diseases.
Blood Clots – Blood clots are formed, increasing the risk of heart strokes or heart attacks. It thickens the blood, which leads to the failure of the heart.
The use of the drugs can cause an increase in red blood cells. The increased rate of blood cells can cause the following diseases:
Heart Failure – The high rate of production of blood cells in the body causes heart failure.
Polycythemia Vera – The increased level of red blood cells can cause Polycythemia Vera (PV). It is a disease in which the bone marrow produces too much red blood cells. It thickens the blood, which decreases its flow and leads to heart stroke.
Congenital Heart Defect – For people who use anabolic steroids regularly, there is a probability that their babies are born with various diseases by birth. One of the diseases is congenital heart disease. Most babies are born with it, which causes heart valve and blood vessel defects.
Hypoxia is a disease with a low oxygen level in the blood. The blood cannot carry enough oxygen to transport it to different body organs.
Lung Diseases – The high rate of red blood cells can cause various lung diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is caused by a high rate of red blood cells, making the blood thicker and difficult to pump. Pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema are also caused due to the increase in red blood cells.
Kidney Tumors – Kidney tumors can also be caused due to the increased production of red blood cells.
Anabolic steroids can cause high production of red blood cells in the body. But if you smoke too many cigarettes or live at a high altitude, it can also cause an increased rate of red blood cells.
These substances work as a drug. People get so much addicted to it. When people regularly use anabolic steroids, their mental and physical body requires it daily. They get so used to it that leaving these drugs can cause:
When people are off this drug-taking activity, they go through these adverse effects. There are a lot of medical treatments for the control of this addiction. It is very difficult for a person to leave any addictive drug.
The long-term side effects can be controlled to some extent, but some are persistent and cannot be changed throughout their lives. For example, a heart is increased in size due to anabolic steroids. But when people stop using it, the heart decreases to some extent but never returns to its normal size.
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Anabolic steroids are drugs that not only give good looks to your physique but destroy your body internally. They have a very bad impact on your health. The risk of heart diseases and blood cells is increasing daily due to the popularity of anabolic steroids among athletes and bodybuilders. Once you get addicted to it, it is very difficult to stop using it.
Moreover, if you overuse these drugs, it can lead to faster aging. It is also gaining popularity among teens because of the delay in puberty. But it causes other diseases in adolescents, like weight loss, enlargement of breasts and muscles in young boys, excessive growth of body hair, and deepening of voice in females.
The constant use of anabolic drugs causes cardiovascular diseases in young people. It causes an increased level of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in the red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen to different parts of the body. Anabolic steroids can also cause hematocrit, an increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood.
If anabolic steroids are used long-term, it thickens the blood, which causes various heart diseases. Heart disease is caused by heart enlargement, inelasticity of the heart, ventricular hypertrophy, an increase in bad cholesterol (LDL), and the production of blood clots. The use of anabolic steroids can also cause back and shoulder pain due to the defects in the heart. It can also result in breathing problems.
Medical research shows that a healthy person’s heart (left ventricle) pumps about 55-70% of the blood. But according to the study, 12 persons were steroid users, and 83% showed blood pumping less than 55%.
Another research was conducted between the weight lifters. 12 weight lifters aged about 40 were using anabolic steroids for 9 years. Another group of 7 men of the same age group was non-users of anabolic steroids. Men of both groups had similar weight and physical activities for a very long time. Even if they had identical risk factors for the heart. However, there was a big difference between the body masses and muscles, which were greater in steroid users than the non-users.
There are uncountable and unexplainable defects that these harmful drugs can cause in the human body. Scientists, doctors, and researchers highly recommend that you kindly stop using these anabolic steroids because they injure your health.
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