FRIDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests a link between low testosterone levels and increased risk of death in men who have heart disease, according to a report published online Oct. 19 in Heart.
Chris J Malkin, of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, U.K., and colleagues collected data on testosterone levels, all-cause mortality, and vascular mortality in 930 men with coronary disease followed over a mean of 6.9 years to examine the effect of testosterone levels on survival in this patient population, and to determine the prevalence of testosterone deficiency.
About one-quarter of the men were found to have low testosterone levels. During the follow-up, men with low testosterone experienced nearly twice the mortality rate as those with normal testosterone levels (21 versus 12 percent). In addition to low serum bio-T markers, the researchers determined that left ventricular dysfunction, aspirin therapy, and β-blocker therapy were other parameters influencing this risk.
"In patients with coronary disease, testosterone deficiency is common and impacts significantly negatively on survival. Prospective trials of testosterone replacement are needed to assess the effect of treatment on survival," the authors write.
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